


Just Like An Avalanche

by hes_kth



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Bottom Harry, Cheating Zayn, Confused Zayn, Dom Zayn, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Perrie does Yoga, Sad Harry, Shameless Smut, Sub Harry, Top Zayn, zarry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-22 09:53:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 66,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8281654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hes_kth/pseuds/hes_kth
Summary: Jesse was a fucking idiot for saying all the right words that have been haunting Harry for the past few days. Right after Zayn Malik smiled at him and made him feel so special, he let it all go.“Zayn.” Harry whispers onto his lips. He’s done. They’re done. “I love you.”  Or, where Harry Styles was a confused teenager with no idea what he wanted and Zayn Malik just happened to be the one thing so unreachable, that he held onto.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yesss my first ever fic that's actually not on Wattpad. Cheers, laddies. (update: i put it on wattpad too because... yeah)  
> Title is taken from 'Pearl' by Katy Perry.
> 
> All mistakes are mine, do not kill me.

 

“Look,” Perrie’s eyes are brighter than the sun when she watches a woman around her mid-forties walk inside the house right next to her, followed by a huge crowd of people. Zayn wasn’t interested, but looking at the huge crowd, he definitely was. “New neighbours. They look pretty nice; don’t you think so?”

 

“I guess.” Zayn replies. He doesn’t care about the neighbours as long as there is sufficient silence around the house for his art work. He wasn’t a fan of his old neighbours. The Walters pretended to be good people but everybody knew that all they wanted was free food. They didn’t have children, which was great because Zayn knew that if they did have offspring, they’d definitely be Satan’s spawns.

 

Perrie spends her entire day looking out of the window to catch a glimpse of the new people. She almost cut her finger while chopping onions. Zayn had to tell her that he’d definitely come with her when she feels like meeting them, and that’s enough to make her get back into concentrating on her own life.

 

Zayn spends the rest of the day sketching and working on the new schedule that had been passed out to him. He liked working as a teacher, but he had to admit that the students were miserable. Preteens trying to be better than others, not talking to the ‘quiet’ ones because they’re supposedly dangerous, and always trying to avoid the homework.

 

Teaching twelve year olds about colours sucked. ‘Mr. Malik, you should teach higher classes. Your drawings are too good for us to imitate,’ One of the quiet girls had once said in his class. He remembers it very well. He also remembers stomping to the principal’s office and demanding promotion.

 

The principal didn’t give him a promotion. He wanted to teach high school students. He wasn’t a fan of teenagers either, but 23-year-old Zayn Malik had big plans. He had to start somewhere and build his way up. Perrie’s right by his side, making sure he’s alive and eating well. He couldn’t thank this woman enough.

 

He’s thinking about Liam’s upcoming engagement party which was on a Friday, when their doorbell goes off. The speed at which Perrie rushes to the door is incredible. By the time she’s opening the door, Zayn’s isolating himself in their master bedroom. He always does it and Perrie doesn’t even care anymore.

 

“Oh hello,” He could hear Perrie’s loud and cheerful voice from the door. He does wonder how he ended up with someone so different from him. “Yes, definitely. My boyfriend is working right now; he’d love to meet you too. You sound lovely, we’ll be there.” The moment Zayn hears Perrie say those words, he wonders why he doesn’t have work on a Sunday evening.

 

The moment he hears the door close, he walks out and looks at Perrie. She’s very happy, she’s smiling so widely when she pulls Zayn into a hug. “Her name is Anne! She’s so nice, and since we’re the house who almost share a garden with her, she wants to know us better. She wouldn’t steal out plants like the Walters!”

 

Zayn couldn’t help but laugh as he puts his arms around Perrie. “Of course she wouldn’t.” He whispers.

 

Perrie Edwards met Zayn Malik during his first year in college. Zayn was 18 and reckless, trying to find a girl and himself at the same time. So many things had happened, with a great amount of fights with Liam and so many girlfriends went through his life, he finally ended up with Perrie. The girl who was by his side when the other girls left him because of his ‘temper’, ‘laziness’ or ‘Zayn-ness’. Perrie knows him and he must always keep that in his mind.

 

Liam Payne was Zayn’s roommate in college. Zayn loves this guy and is forever thankful for him for staying by his side, even when Zayn completely insulted him in every way possible. Liam is optimistic, keeps telling him that past is in the past and he always knew that Zayn would turn out to be fucking golden in the end.

 

He wasn’t completely right about it, but Perrie agrees.

 

“You look…very nice.” Zayn says when Perrie’s fixing her mascara. She smiles but doesn’t turn her head from the mirror. It’s almost eight and that’s when the family next door had invited them over. “Of course, so do you.” She finally replies when she’s done with her makeup.

 

Perrie’s about 5’5 with her bright blue eyes and platinum blond hair. She loves every human being who’s nice to her, and she would adopt every animal that she’d find on the road if she could afford to pay for their needs. She’s a certified yoga instructor at a famous centre around the city and the talk is that people buy memberships just to meet her.

 

“You know, I always thought that Mrs. Walters wanted to sleep with you.” Perrie decides to make a conversation when they’re leaving their house. “Of course you did.” Zayn replies with a smug grin playing on his lips. “You think everybody wants to sleep with me.”

 

“Because they do.” She replied bluntly. Zayn Malik didn’t think of him as absolutely gorgeous—as Perrie likes to remind him. He’s about 5’11 with black hair and brown eyes. Liam likes to describe him as ‘my college friend with the chiselled jawline’ which is utter bullshit to Zayn, but Perrie liked it so much that she continued to call him ‘Mr. chiselled jawline’ for five days straight.

 

Perrie lets go of his hand when they’re at the new neighbour’s door. The rings the doorbell and offers Zayn a small smile which is saying that it’s going to be alright. He knows her well enough to smile back. The door opens and a young female is looking at them with wide eyes before smiling. Short hair, green eyes and dimples. “Hello.” She said. “You must be our neighbours. Come on in.”

 

Zayn walks behind Perrie who’s instantly greeted by an older woman. “Hello, I’m Anne Cox, so nice to meet you.” The lady introduces herself to Zayn when she’s done smothering Perrie with kisses. “Hey, I’m Zayn Malik. Nice to meet you too.”

 

Then they’re all settled at the table. They learn that Anne is living here with her two children. Her older child Gemma and her younger son Harry. She then tells them that London’s been her hometown and her children weren’t big fans of the high school in the states, so when they got a chance to move here when Harry got admission into UCL, they were more than happy.

 

Perrie decides that she needs to tell Anne about her life too, so when she starts, Zayn knows it’s going to be a while. “Um, where’s the washroom?” He manages to ask before turning completely red from embarrassment. Gemma gives him the instructions, and he learns that it’s the second room upstairs.

 

He locks himself into the little cubicle and decides to check his phone. ‘Browsing through your phone while in a meeting with people is highly immature, Zayn.’ Perrie had told him once. So he remembers not to do it anymore unless he’s in a mood for her wrath.

 

The moment he unlocks his phone, a message from Liam pops up.

 

Liam: hopefully Perrie isn’t there

 

Liam: *picture*

 

It’s a picture of Liam with a guy that Zayn doesn’t know about.

 

Zayn: who’s the dude??

 

Liam: remember the guy… from our third year?? The blond with the grey eyes that you had a MOMENT with

 

Zayn: Liam

 

Liam: I still can’t believe that you didn’t tell Perrie that you’re bi

 

Liam: what’s the point in hiding?

 

Zayn: what’s the point in telling her when it doesn’t matter??

 

Liam: whatever man, talk later. See you on Friday, yeah?

 

Zayn: yeah bye

 

He had planned to stay here longer but Liam had to send that picture. Just remembering his ‘phase’ with guys made him want to dig a hole and stay in there forever. He had moved on from that. Moved on pretty well.

 

He opens the door and the moment he does it, he notices someone stood right in front of him, with his back turned. The person is trying to pull something from the wall opposite to the washroom’s, and he succeeds. He falls back, right on Zayn.

 

“Shit.” Zayn mutters as he holds on to the guy who’s just as tall as him, with his chocolate brown hair all over Zayn’s face. He’s saying something, but he’s moving too. Zayn pushes him off when he feels the guy brush his back on the nope area.

 

The guy turns to look at him. Zayn takes in his features. He’s got green eyes, just like Gemma’s. He looks very similar to his mother and sister. Then he smiles and decides to held out his hand to Zayn. He has the family dimples too.

 

“I’m Harry. You must be our neighbour.” He said. “Sorry about that, by the way.”

 

“Uh no, it’s cool. You probably lost your balance.” Zayn said with a smile. Harry was trying to remove a photo from the wall which was apparently The Walters’.

 

“I don’t mean about my fall.” Harry said before his eyes travelled down Zayn’s body, ending right there, before grinning and walking down like nothing had happened.

 

Zayn’s fuming. An 18-year-old basically falls on his dick and expects him to not have any response to that.

 

The dinner is great. Zayn actually liked her cooking and decided to even compliment her. Anne did say that it was all Gemma’s work, who in turn blushed and nudged her mother. Zayn glanced at Harry who ate silently, his eyes shifting to Perrie in short intervals before he grinned to himself.

 

Zayn doesn’t know what’s going through that teenager’s mind, but he doesn’t like it. First he falls on him, then he stares at his girlfriend like he wants to devour her. He feels very uncomfortable.

 

“Harry wanted to join a frat but we’re keeping him here.” Gemma says when Perrie asked where Harry would be living when their term would start. “He’s been complaining a lot though. Saying that this whole neighbourhood seems like a sad novel.”

 

Perrie laughs at that and looks at Harry. “Oh come on, we’re great people. You should spend more time with us.” And she reached out to place her hand on his arm since he was seated beside her. Harry smiled. “Oh yes. You people seem nice, so I think being here wouldn’t be a problem.”

 

Zayn’s definitely not uncomfortable.

 

When they’re making their way back home, he’s thinking about it. He can’t stop thinking about it. Harry looking at Perrie like that. Perrie being super friendly with Harry. He can’t blame Perrie, she always gets too close and people like the closeness. They just start feeling like they need more. Perrie is beautiful, no way Harry wouldn’t want her.

 

But then again, his first encounter with Harry wasn’t a huge success. He’s grumpy after that, and Perrie doesn’t notice because he’s always grumpy.

 

“I’ll be in the art room. I’ll be in bed soon.” He tells her when she’s heading for their room. “Okay.” She replies with a smile, leaning in to kiss his lips slowly before leaving him alone in the living hall. He makes his way upstairs, into his domain. He loves being in his art room, surrounded by art supplies and his own drawings on the wall.

 

The smell of fresh paint keeps him alive. He turns off the lights and sits on the corner, staring out of the window. The moonlight is enough to keep this room bright. Then he starts to think, because that’s what he does half of the time in his art room.

 

‘When are you going to do it?’ His father asked. His mother is sat there beside him, waiting for Zayn’s answer.

 

But Zayn doesn’t have an answer. ‘I need her to trust me completely, I don’t want her to think that I’m doing it because I…’

 

‘Don’t.’ His mother said. ‘Don’t worry about that. Take your time, but do it by this year if you can. It’s a good time and, what’s the point in waiting when you know she’s the one that you want?’

 

It’s not like Zayn didn’t love Perrie. He loved her more than he had ever loved anyone. But not enough to make it to that stage, with the promise that shall tie them together forever. A promise that Zayn wants to keep, a promise that Zayn hasn’t planned yet.

 

His thoughts are interrupted when he notices the lights coming on from the opposite house. He crawls towards the window and stares out like a creep. He watches Harry come into the room and yawn before taking off his shirt. And holy shit, when Zayn saw the amount of tattoos that covered his bodies, he almost died.

 

Harry’s taking off his jeans too. Zayn doesn’t mean to look, but then again, Harry is changing with his curtains wide open for the world to see. It’s completely his fault. Zayn’s knee hits the switches which were joined to the eight lava lamps in his room, which instantly brightened up like it was the fourth of July. He mentally cursed and fell down, which made a loud noise to wake Perrie up.

 

He looks at the window. Harry’s staring directly at him, standing in the middle of the room with just his boxers on. “Zayn? Are you okay?” It’s Perrie. Her footsteps are close; he quickly hides the window in the curtains that Perrie had bought from a little store in Manchester, just the moment when she opened the door. She looked at the lava lamps, then at Zayn.

 

“I was thinking about an idea when I tripped over a lamp and fell.” He says with a chuckle. She looks at him for a moment before laughing. “That’s so you. Now come on, I need a cuddle.” She holds out her arms like a kid waiting to be carried.

 

He forgets about Harry in his boxers and walks over to Perrie, actually carries her down as she laughs and tells him that he’s an idiot.

 

The next morning Zayn barely gets up without Perrie pulling him out of the bed. “Come on, don’t you have work? You need to eat too. Hurry!” She’s yelling about before disappearing into the kitchen. Zayn stares at the ceiling for a moment before deciding to actually go to work.

 

He’s grumpy when he gets in his car, notices Gemma outside talking to a guy that he’s never seen before. He tries not to think too much about that, or the events that had occurred yesterday. Harry, the teenager living next door might think of him as a creep now, but he’s too tired of life to fight for his status.

 

He arrives at Greenberg Comprehensive School before his regular time. It’s a Friday morning and when he gets out of his car, some high school students smile at him. He’s heard talks that people here find him ‘the attractive teacher’ and ‘the one we shall bet our lives to sleep with’. He really tries not to look when the high school students flash him accidentally.

 

“Zayn.” The mention of his name makes his head turn to the other side. Professor Michelle Griffin is smiling at him with her pearly whites. She teaches Biology to the middle schoolers and is a good friend of his. “Hey, um, how was the birthday party?” Zayn asked her.

 

“Oh, awful. Troy ended up getting lost in a puddle of balloons. And Marion ate so much ice cream that she could barely move an inch,” Michelle gushes out as she places a hand on his shoulder. She’s thirty with a husband working in the navy, and two kids named Troy, aged 4 and Marion, aged 3. “Why does Paula even try to get such big halls for her one-year kid’s birthday? So that she could make sure we lose our kids there and make sure they demand even bigger halls for their birthdays? Troy is going to bug me about this for years.”

 

Zayn laughs because that’s pure Michelle, making everybody laugh with her daily stories of being a mother to two toddlers. “I heard you got new neighbours.” Michelle said when he sat down on his desk in the teachers’ lounge. Her desk was right opposite to his, that’s how they started talking too. He had moved here three years ago, looking for a job after being a failure in college, and finally found his way in here, right in front of her desk.

 

“Of course you heard. Perrie’s broadcast was live for the whole city to hear.” Zayn says with a smile. Michelle rolls her eyes at that, tying her brown hair into a pony tail before tossing a pencil in his direction. “How are they? Not like your sociopath old neighbours, I hope.” She asks with a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

 

“No, they’re alright. A woman with her two kids. Both in college, I suppose.” Zayn answers like it’s no big deal. No way was there going to be any sort of trouble between those two neighbours. They were going to be very social and friendly in every aspect. Which didn’t include falling right on top of other people’s privates.

 

“Boring.” She mutters before going back to the tests that she was supposed to correct. It’s funny to watch her correct papers because either she’s cursing, or crying. Because every child she teaches is so stupid and they always write the answers as if it’s a witty joke. It’s hilarious, but she couldn’t have them failing like that and then getting kicked out of the school.

 

Zayn has only three lectures on Friday. He’s thankful for that. So when he’s on his final lecture with a couple of students from the eighth grade, he’s too tired to teach them about the human body. He offers a free period and tells them to prepare for their upcoming exams. They don’t answer him and he’s not hurt by that.

 

Kids belong to devil. He knows it all too well.

 

It’s Liam’s engagement party today. He remembers it when he’s back in his car and Liam calls him. “Be here before time! The decoration here is amazing.” Liam is saying when he picks up. “Oh yeah. Eight, you said?” Zayn asks, completely unsure because he’s bad with dates, time, events and people. Perrie isn’t. That’s why he needs her by his side.

 

“Seven.” Liam says. Liam doesn’t even get angry at him when he forgets things like that. It was like Liam had called him just as a reminder that it was seven, not eight. “You and Perrie are coming, right?” He asks, a little hesitantly. Zayn instantly feels bad. It’s five pm right now and he has plenty of time to drive to the location, which was Liam and Nakshathra’s mansion.

 

“What kind of a question is that? Of course we are, mate.” Zayn says with a laugh. “See you. I have to drive now.”

 

“Thanks Zee, see you soon.” And with that Liam hangs up. Zayn tries not to exceed the speed limit while driving home.

 

Perrie’s there. She’s getting ready and he’s happy that she remembers about this important event. “Come on, we have to leave in thirty minutes.” She’s saying when he’s tying his tie. Perrie’s applying her lipstick beside him in front of the huge mirror that they had in their bathroom. “Just a second.” He says when he’s done with his tie. They look at each other from the mirror and laugh like kids.

 

It’s perfect.

 

“You look amazing.” He says and leans forward to kiss her lips when her finger stops him midway. “Still drying, love.” She says innocently. He rolls his eyes but kisses her cheek. She laughs shamelessly like a maniac and Zayn loves the sound of it.

 

They’re leaving the house when they see Harry walking with a couple of guys around him through the sidewalk. Zayn wants to ignore them but Perrie decides otherwise. “Hello Harry!” She greets him happily. He’s surprised to see her but smiles widely. He checks her out like it’s something that he always does. Zayn’s blood is boiling but when Harry checks him out too with the same smile, he might just think the kid is insane.

 

“You look beautiful, Perrie.” Harry compliments her. “Way to a party?”

 

“Yes. Our college friend’s engagement party. We should go now, we’re a tad late.” She says with a laugh, tugging Zayn’s arm. Harry nods and waves her goodbye. Then he starts walking again with the guys who would be his ‘supposedly new friends’ from UCL.

 

Zayn turns back to glare at Harry’s back. But Harry’s head is turned around and when he notices Zayn’s eyes on him too, he smiles so wide and winks cheekily. Zayn might just have to add their neighbours to the insane list which carried only The Walters’ till now.

 

It takes them fifteen minutes to get to Liam’s house. They’re the first ones to arrive, Liam hugs Zayn like he hasn’t seen him in years and Perrie smothers Liam’s face in kisses, turning to Zayn and telling him that their baby had finally grown up. Nakshathra is all smiles too, embracing Zayn and Perrie like she’s known them for years.

 

Nakshathra Jane Clare is a student in UCL. She’s a senior and she met Liam during her sophomore year. Liam, 23, was doing his MBA at UCL, so when they met, it wasn’t love at first sight. Liam had just broken up with his girlfriend Sophia, whom he was planning to propose, and his heart was completely shattered. Nakshathra was there by his side when Zayn and Perrie were busy with their own lives.

 

Dating Nakshathra was one of the most challenging things that Liam had ever done. Not because she was a difficult person, but because her mother was completely against dating and her father agreed to mother’s terms, she never had a boyfriend and stayed out of dating. Her mother, Lekha, is Indian and wanted Nakshathra to even think about dating after getting a job.

 

Her father was pretty chill about the whole topic when he found out. Mr. Clare is a nice man who was proud to have his daughter onto someone like Liam. Her mother eventually gave into the deal because Liam had the ability to make anybody fall in love with him.

 

Zayn grabs a glass of wine and walks towards the balcony when the house is filled with people. Perrie is somewhere, talking to people and making sure everybody knew she was there. Zayn tried to be like that but he couldn’t. He always wanted to escape.

 

‘When are you going to do it?’

 

The chanting is going on in his head. His mother and father’s voice repeating the same sentence again and again.

 

“I knew he would be here.” Liam’s voice brings him back. He turns around to see Liam a little drunk with his arm wrapped around a shorter guy’s shoulder. “Zayn, this is my old pal Niall. We were friends in high school, lost contact for a bit, but he’s here now. Actually knew a bit about your new neighbours. He’s friends with the girl living there. You should have his company because I don’t need you dying out here. On my engagement party.”

 

“You’re fucking rude.” Zayn says but Liam’s having none of it. He leaves Niall on the balcony and rushes back to the party. Niall’s a little shorter than him with blond hair, which shows off his brown roots. He’s smiling, he’s a little tipsy and a little drunk too. “Hey.” He says.

 

“Sorry man, Liam’s a little…”

 

“Never mind the guy. He’s an angel, I tell you.” Niall’s laughing when he says it. He stands right beside Zayn near the railing and looks at him. “So, what do you do?” He asks.

 

“Art teacher at Greenberg Comprehensive School.” Zayn replies. “And you?”

 

“Oh damn. I studied to be a heart surgeon.” Niall says. “Working as an intern in the local hospital here.”

 

“That’s nice.” Zayn says with a laugh. Niall was about to say something when a girl draped her arm around his body and pulled him away from the railing. “Come in! They’re starting the slow dance and we need to dance.” She’s saying and laughing at the same time. She has long brown locks and a pink lip. She’s grinning and she looks just as happy as Niall does.

 

“This is my girlfriend, Laura.” Niall manages to say. “This is Zayn, babe.”

 

Laura looks at Zayn with her bright blue eyes. “Hello! Nice to meet you. You should come to, I heard Perrie mention a Zayn. Maybe she was looking for you, come on.” Then she’s dragging both of them into the main hall. Niall and Laura disappear into a side then, and Zayn could see Perrie standing on the other side, watching other people dance while sipping on red wine.

 

Looking at her made him feel bad for abandoning his girlfriend like that. He walks up to her and holds out his hand. “A dance, my lady?” He asks with a smile. She seemed a little startled by that. But then she giggles and nods before giving him her hand. They dance in the middle of the hall along with other couples.

 

There are Liam’s sister who take turns to dance with him. Nakshathra’s family and her cousins are dancing on the side while laughing loudly. Liam’s parents are right beside them, dancing slowly and everything seemed right. Perrie’s head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her waist. He wasn’t going to screw this up.

 

The party is a success and Liam thanks everybody for coming. He makes sure everybody is reminded seven hundred times to come to the wedding which takes place on March 17th which was next year. Everybody is laughing and smiling when they walk out with their shiny dresses and fancy suits in the dark. Zayn’s arm is around Perrie as he helps her get into the car. Dancing so much and drinking a fair amount had gotten her drunk enough to sleep soundly till ten.

 

Zayn drives back home, makes the bed and lets Perrie sleep soundly. He walks back up into his art room to think again. Looking at Liam and Nakshathra today made him think about the question that he had been avoiding. He knows this is not the time, he knows that he still has to figure this out. He’s delaying because he wants better things ahead for both of them.

 

His eyes turn towards the window where Harry just walks in. He walks around the room in circles, and it looks like he’s in deep thoughts. Zayn’s staring again. He could see the headlines now.

 

Zayn Malik caught creeping on a teenager while declining about being interested in the same sex.

 

Harry’s eyes snap right at him. Zayn doesn’t move, and Harry’s looking at him. One of the lava lamps in his room was turned up because Zayn didn’t want just the moonlight for tonight. Harry could see him clearly.

 

Zayn wants to laugh and turn off the lights, walk down and sleep beside his drunk girlfriend. But he doesn’t. He waits for Harry’s reaction.

 

Harry’s reaction is not the biggest mystery in the planet. He pretends not to notice Zayn’s stares and takes off his shirt like he always does. Then he sits down on his bed. Zayn wonders what he’s doing. Then he notices Harry reach for a bottle on the nightstand before applying the liquid on his palm. And so, Harry starts rubbing the liquid on his neck, chest, and abdomen. His fingers taking all the time in the world, twisting his nipples and moving his hands slowly all over his body.

 

Zayn feels like the biggest creep in the whole world but he can’t stop watching. This 18-year-old guy rubbing his body in lotion with his eyes closed and his long curly hair flow like a fucking princess, Zayn really can’t stop watching. Then Harry’s hands go a little lower his abdomen and he starts palming himself through his jeans. Zayn lets out a gasp when he notices that, and looking at Harry being in that kind of a position was one of the hottest things in the whole world.

 

He would like to hear the sounds, because Harry’s mouth was opened but he couldn’t hear a thing. He hated himself for not being able to hear a thing. Harry was too far; all he could do was watch shamelessly. After a moment, Harry stopped. Then he got up from the bed, wiggled out of his jeans and reveals the tight briefs that he was wearing. God, Zayn could see how wet he was from such distance.

 

Zayn thinks that the briefs are going to disappear soon, but then Harry turns around and leans over the bed, as if he’s searching for something. But Zayn doesn’t care what he’s searching for, because he can see Harry’s arse and it’s everything. How can a guy be allowed to have an arse like that? He almost chokes at the sight, his hands involuntarily making their way towards his dick.

 

Harry turns back and he’s smiling like he knows what he’s doing to Zayn. Then he has to be a spoilsport and close the curtains, signalling that it was the end of the show.

 

Zayn doesn’t know what kind of a game the teenager was playing with him, but something in his mind was telling him that it was dangerous. So he tries to ignore it, reminding himself that he just watched. It was just like watching porn. Live porn. Without any revelation of anybody’s privates.

 

He decides to make his way to his bed, but then he stops because his dick is aching and he needs a wank. He wants to wake Perrie up and tell her to help him but she’s too drunk to even open her eyes. Zayn didn’t know she was that much of a lightweight. He rushes to the bathroom and jerks off. He tries to think about Perrie and her mouth around his cock, or the feeling of being deep inside of her, but all he could think about was the way Harry rubbed his body and how great his arse looked in those briefs.

 

He makes a note to self. Harry Styles is a dangerous kid.

 

Harry’s up before six in the morning. He never gets up this early unless the world is ending or Gemma is singing at the top of her voice. It’s the second one, as usual. He’s grumbling, looking out of his window which gives him a clear view of what possibly could be a room where Zayn creeps on his neighbours.

 

Gemma’s voice isn’t going down, so he walks out of his room and makes his way downstairs. He can even hear his mother telling her to stop, but she doesn’t listen. He’s about to yell at her but then he sees him. He’s sat on one of the kitchen chairs, laughing at something and telling Anne that Gemma’s voice isn’t that bad.

 

“Good morning.” Harry mutters. The three of them look at him at once. “Hello Harry.” Louis greets him. Harry ignores him and walks over to his mother, sitting down beside her on the dining table chair. “Hopefully no plans for today.” He whispers.

 

“No, honey. We have plans.” Anne says, wrapping her arm around her younger child. “Perrie wanted us over for lunch.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Louis, you should look at the couple living beside us. They’re both so pretty.” Gemma gushes out while chopping carrots like a pro. “Maybe, but definitely not prettier than you, babe.” Louis replies before kissing her cheek. Harry wants to gag, maybe make a smart comment about it. But he doesn’t.

 

“Do I have to go?” Harry asks.

 

“Yes! Come on, Zayn’s a young lad. You can be friends with him, Perrie says that he could use some company.” Anne is saying when she gets up from the chair and walks over to Louis in the kitchen. “Whatever.” He grunts to himself.

 

Louis walks over and sits down beside him. Harry wants to tell him to move over, maybe change his seat, but that’d make Gemma and Anne way too suspicious. “You like the Uni?” Louis asks. “It’s fine. Made some friends.” Harry replies.

 

“Good. You know that I’m here, yeah? We’re friends, yeah?” Louis says, more likely assures him. Harry couldn’t hate him more.

 

Louis and Gemma started dating when Harry was in love with him.

 

The Styles family was a happy one, living happily in northwest England, the city of Liverpool. Gemma used to complain about the weather and Dad promised that they’d move to London when Harry would finish his sixth form. Harry always wanted to go to UCL School of Management and his dad promised that if he kept his grades, he would definitely go there.

 

His mother ran a blog about flowers and stuff that Harry didn’t care about, but he knew that it was a popular blog read by many other people because she used to get paid too. His dad is a scientist. Desmond Styles never had much time to spend with his family. Harry’s mother always tells him that his father is happy to have him, and shows him the pictures during his birth where his father had held him with tears in his eyes. Harry forgets to hate him.

 

Louis Tomlinson is a 23-year-old businessman. He’s the upcoming CEO of his father’s filthy rich company. They used to be neighbours back in Epson street in Liverpool. Louis used to live alone because his mother was always touring for her fashion line, and his father worked all day long. He was studying in University of Liverpool back then. He was 21, doing his management studies.

 

He was the one who approached Harry. Talked like he was dying to meet him. Harry knows that he’s stupid for even thinking that Louis was in love with him the way he was in love with Louis. ‘I was a bit bored of studies today, coming for a movie?’ He would ask out of nowhere. Harry did ask him why he wouldn’t hang out with his university friends, and he admitted that they were just a bunch of arseholes. Harry knew that he really liked this boy.

 

He was only sixteen back then. Stupid and in love with an older guy. His college friends were a bunch of dicks too, he’s happy that he’s away from them now. Jesse Buckley was the one guy who actually came to give him a farewell. He was one of friends that he had in his sixth form _. ‘You might have a thing for neighbours,’_ He had said. He knew about the ‘Louis’ thing. _‘Let me tell you, it’s about time you stop giving a shit about the consequences. Married? Who cares. Divorced with seven kids? Who cares. You want a piece of the lad? You take it. I know I couldn’t help you out in college, but Uni just changes a person. You go for it, mate.’_

 

Harry had just laughed back then. He didn’t think about actually following his advice, but here he was, practically seducing the life out of Zayn Malik.

 

The day he invited Louis to have dinner with his family, Louis was overjoyed. For a moment Harry thought he was excited to meet them, knowing that he’ll be a little closer to Harry. Maybe they’d go on picnics together. Feed each other and read them to bed.

 

But the day Louis came over for dinner, that autumn of his sixteenth year and two months of being his ‘friend’, Louis instantly had this bond with Gemma that Harry could feel. He remembered that they were going to the same college, Gemma being in her second year of Uni doing English Literature.

 

Louis was so excited to know Gemma. He completely ignored Harry and Anne could see it in his eyes. ‘I’m having a friend over, he’s in college and he’s really nice.’ Harry had said to her earlier that day. She was happy about it, didn’t ask too many questions. Harry didn’t invite any friends over so it was a good thing.

 

Gemma laughing at Louis’ jokes when Harry offered to clean the dishes with his mom. Their dad was back in Southampton then, working on his ‘scientific’ projects.

 

“Harry,” Anne had said in a low voice. “Did you like the boy?”

 

Harry’s heart sinks to his chest at that. Then he laughs. “God no, you think I’m gay? He just asked if I had a sister, and I said that Gemma was cool. And here they are, he’s a nice guy. I think Gem really likes him.”

 

His mother didn’t say anything. But she had a small smile on her lips. “You’ll tell me if you’re confused or anything like that. Yeah? I’m always here to listen. You hear me?”

 

“Come on mom, I’m not gay. Please stop.” He left her to do the dishes herself. She huffed and shook her head disappointedly before going back to her cleaning.

 

It was just the start of the fall in his life. Louis would be in his house every other day for Gemma, he was being ignored and Gemma wondered what was up with him. Eventually, when Gemma and Louis were ‘official’, Harry told Gem that he was in love with Louis. But that only made him realize that he completely isn’t into guys anymore, and had started dating a doe eyed girl from his school.

 

Louis decided that him and Harry needed to have a talk about the whole ‘love’ thing. But Harry wasn’t having any of it. Eventually when Harry saw that Louis wasn’t letting go of Gemma, he tried to be a little friendlier with him. But still, looking at him and knowing that he was the first guy he was in love with, the guy who’s kissing his sister, it hurts.

 

“Whatever, Louis.” Harry says. Louis doesn’t look pleased with the answer, more or less he looks hurt. He’s about to say something when Gem cuts him off. “Hey Haz, we’re all going out for a drink tonight. Niall and Laura are coming too. You up for it or you got plans?”

 

“Uh, I think I’ll come with you. I don’t have much to do here.” He replies. Gemma smiles and claps her hands “Great! Now come on Louis, stop slacking around and help me with the breakfast. Harry, go and take a bath. You look like a walking disaster.”

 

Harry’s grumbling about being yelled at but nods. Maybe he’ll be a little too drunk to give another strip tease to his beautiful neighbour.

 

Niall was Louis’ classmate back in college. He was a year older but he used to hang out with Louis sometimes. They kept in touch after university, and Harry got along well with the guy. Niall was from Ireland, a cheerful chap that one would love to have around. He’s got a girlfriend named Laura whom he met online. She’s a designer or something like that. Harry remembers her pretty face very well.

 

It’s about 12:30 pm and he’s sat on his sofa, waiting for his mother and sister to get ready. “Harry, how do I look?” He hears Gemma’s voice from behind him. He turns his head to see her wearing a sleek black dress. “You trying to get another boyfriend?” Harry asks.

 

“Thanks. Mom, you done?” Gemma calls out before heading back inside. Harry’s just there, wearing a white t-shirt and his signature tight black jeans, along with his brown boots that he’s loved since he was sixteen. After some more minutes, they head out. His mother is wearing a sophisticated green dress, and Harry tells his mum that she looks better than Gemma. “Screw you.” Gemma whispers into his ear. Anne’s laughing and clutching at his arm, telling Gemma she’s looking gorgeous.

 

It’s Perrie who opens the door with a blown out smile. “Come on in, you lot look lovely.” She’s saying, kissing everybody on the cheek with a hug. Harry’s used to her closeness. They take off their footwear because the carpet looks expensive and secondly because Perrie tells them it would be lovely if they would. She tells them to be seated, Harry looks around for Zayn. He’s not here yet. “Zayn’s a little busy with his art. Don’t mind him.” Perrie apologizes before calling out for her boyfriend.

 

“No it’s fine, do you think he’ll show us his work?” Gemma asks with a hopeful smile. She used to love painting and always had an eye for ‘good art pieces’. Perrie seems hesitant. “Of course he would. He’s a little shy about it, but he draws me sometimes and they’re my favourites. I’m sure I could show you that. And hopefully, you guys would like steak and chicken.”

 

“Oh I love me some steak.” Harry says with a smile. Perrie giggles before rushing upstairs. Harry watches her go and wonders if that’s the room from where Zayn always watches him. “Her hair, mom. Platinum blonde, kill me.” Gemma whispers to Anne. Harry’s still thinking about Zayn.

 

Soon the couple arrive downstairs. Harry takes a good look at Zayn. He’s wearing a black flannel and his hair is a little messy. Harry smiles down at the table because he looks amazing as always. He greets everyone politely before taking a seat right opposite to Harry. On the table, Harry and Gemma were on one side, and right opposite to them were Perrie, Anne and Zayn.

 

At first when they started munching on the food, Gemma complimented Perrie’s cooking and told her to teach her how to cook such wicked chicken sometime. Anne talks about the spices and Zayn’s eating quietly. The three women are having their talk and the two guys are eating in peace.

 

Harry decides that he needs to do something.

 

His right foot lands on top of Zayn’s, and he looks up to see the older man pause for a bit before continuing to eat. He feels Zayn shift his foot away, making him frown. Then Zayn’s starting to eat so fast, like he wants to get off the table as soon as he could. Harry’s not far away, the three women might be eating slower than anything but he was fast.

 

His plate is empty before Zayn’s. “Do you think you can show me your art now?” Harry asks. Perrie looks at Zayn who doesn’t really have an expression on his face. “Sure, come on Zayn, show him your art room.” Perrie answers for him. Zayn looks genuinely annoyed but agrees with a fake smile.

 

Perrie tells the boys to leave the plates on the table itself. Then Harry finds himself following Zayn upstairs with a devilish smile. The moment Zayn opens the door to his art room, Harry makes his way to the window. From here he could see his room, clear and wide. Zayn stands there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

 

“So you do your creeping in your art room.” Harry says.

 

“Not creeping, I’d say.”

 

“Looking at a young lad getting off isn’t creeping?”

 

“I don’t think so. Not when the lad wants you to look at him.” Zayn replies with that witty scoff of his. Harry’s feeling brave, again. The words from Jesse Buckley coming back to his mind. Who cared if his girlfriend was right there downstairs telling his mother and sister that Zayn might be the one? Right now Zayn was here with him, he wanted to do something, he wanted to do something to the man who liked to watch him strip.

 

It’s like Zayn knew what was going on in his mind. The moment Harry takes a step forward; Zayn’s hand is up in defeat. “Listen, Harry. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m sorry for doing what I did for the past days, but I’m not a cheater. And you’re young.” He says as fast as possible. Harry’s looking at him. “I guess so, Mr. Malik. Too bad, isn’t it?” Harry says with a smile, his hand landing on Zayn’s shoulder.

 

“Uh, yeah.” Zayn manages to blurt out. Harry doesn’t do anything else. He lets go of Zayn, doesn’t think about the little freckle that the guy has in his eye or how he’s an inch shorter than him, or how beautiful he is up close. He looks at the art sprawled across the room and the lava lamps which are lit brightly.

 

“Your art is spectacular.” Harry says with a smile, his eyes landing on a painting of Perrie laughing. “You draw what you like.”

 

“I do.” Zayn replies with a smile, walking towards Harry and looking at the art he had drawn some months back. Perrie loved it. “Your wife must really like this one. It’s very good, I tell you.” Harry says, his hands on the canvas.

 

“She—she’s not my wife.”

 

“Is she?” Harry mutters, then he’s walking out of the room. Zayn could hear his footsteps fading away. He just stared at the painting of Perrie laughing.

 

Zayn’s devastated. The question of marriage, the permanent bond and the promise to actually be together till the end. To have kids, joint bank accounts, future planning, and growing old together. All of this was killing him from the inside, he didn’t know what to do, he was dying and Perrie was on about her successful lunch party.

 

“Zayn? Are you even listening to me?” She asks. Zayn is, but he doesn’t know what to say. “Anyways, I think I’ll have to take the night one today. You think you’ll be okay by heating up the dinner? I’ll be home by eleven. Jordan’s dropping me off.”

 

“Yeah, okay. Say hi to Jordan from me.” Zayn replies. He knows Jordan, she’s a yoga instructor like Perrie and is very nice to him. He remembers those kind of nice people that you rarely meet nowadays. People like Perrie. Perrie smiles at that. “I will. And, isn’t Harry nice? You should try being closer to him. Anne told me that he’s devastated after their father left him. He doesn’t call much, still pays his university expenses. And I promised her that you’ll go out with them for drinks today. You will, won’t you?”

 

“Perrie.”

 

“Zayn.” She repeats in the same tone. “I know you don’t have anything to do. Come on Zayn, do this for me?”

 

Zayn’s groaning and fussing, but she’s having none of it. “Maybe I’ll do something special for you tonight if you do go with them,” She whispers down his ear, letting his hand wander down his chest. He instantly stiffens and holds her arm. “You better do.” He whispers back, biting her lip. She smirks before going back to their bedroom.

 

That was exactly what he needed to get Harry off his mind. He sulks around for the rest of the day, skypes with Walihya who’s complaining about her university life and Safaa who can’t wait for her sixth forms to start after completing her GCSEs. He smiles at them, tells them that he misses them terribly and can’t wait to see them again.

 

Then he goes back to his painting, thinks if he should really go tonight. He decides that he should, have a drink or two and come back home for a good night. Hopefully Perrie would be home by the time he comes around. It’s about eight when Perrie leaves, and he’s all alone. She did tell him that Gemma would be coming around to pick him up.

 

He’s tired. He doesn’t want to go. Maybe he would if Liam was coming, or maybe Nakshathra. Somebody that he knows. Not a bunch of people that he barely does, which includes a horny teenager. But Gemma’s by his door at nine and they’re leaving.

 

Zayn is introduced to a guy named Louis Tomlinson. He learns that Louis’ Gemma’s boyfriend and is a filthy rich businessman. Gemma’s riding shotgun and Louis is driving. Gemma’s talking to Niall on the phone and Zayn realizes that Harry’s been staring at him like crazy. He looks at him too, hoping that he would stop staring at him, but Harry’s eyes are fixed on him.

 

Zayn instantly feels like this was a bad idea.

 

They go to a bar. The music is loud; Zayn hasn’t been here before. He does go for a few drinks with Liam but he hasn’t been in this place. This lighted up place is far from where they live, the crowd here is plenty and the drinks look nice.

 

Zayn’s instantly hugged by Niall who’s already plenty drunk. “Zayn!” He says. “Still pretty, aren’t you?”

 

Zayn laughs and the drunk lad proceeds to hug the life out of Gemma. Laura is telling Harry about a bottle that she’s holding, basically shoving it into his mouth. Louis is stood there, trying to detangle Niall from Gemma who’s laughing loudly. Zayn doesn’t know how he got in here.

 

Soon he’s sat on one of the bar chairs, ordering a beer for himself. Louis is beside him, snogging Gemma and Niall is dancing with Laura on the dance floor. Zayn tries to remember where Harry could have gone. “Jesus, I thought you told me Harry wasn’t gay.” Zayn hears Louis tell Gemma who’s laughing. “He isn’t, he’s just drunk. He would tell us if he was.” Gemma replied.

 

Zayn looks where the two of them are staring, and notice Harry grinding down on a man. Gemma and Louis go back to their snogging, but Harry’s looking at him now. The man’s hands were all over his body and Harry was letting him touch it. The young lad’s hair down to his shoulders, his body covered in sweat and his mouth open as the man continued to rub his filthy body against him.

 

Zayn knows it’s time to order another drink. He drinks and drinks, until he’s not sitting on the bar chair anymore. Gemma asks him where he’s off to, but he doesn’t answer. He looks at Harry who’s still dancing with the filthy man, laughing and whispering something down his ear. He grabs a hold of Harry’s arm, and turns him around. “Dance with me.” He says.

 

“Sorry, duty calls.” Harry says to the filthy man, who seemed uninterested, and moved on to another guy on the dance floor. “What happened, Mr. Malik?” Harry asks him with an innocent smile.

 

“Shut up.” Zayn whispers, turning him around and pressing his body against Harry’s back. The younger male groans at the sensation and lets his head fall back. “Grinding against strangers and seducing your neighbour? Came here to cause trouble, Harry? Is this what you want to be?” Zayn whispers, his hands resting on Harry’s hips before tracing the skin beneath his t-shirt.

 

Harry doesn’t say anything. He’s enjoying the feeling of Zayn’s warm body against his own, the music is playing and it’s like the dance floor is theirs. Nobody is paying attention to them, nobody cares what they’re doing. It takes Harry a moment to recollect when he feels Zayn biting down his neck. Then he’s groaning, grinding harder against Zayn’s body until he’s feeling out of breath.

 

“Zayn,” He whispers. “What would your wife think if she saw you like this?”

 

Zayn stops.

 

Perrie.

 

_‘What would Perrie think if she saw you, Zayn?’ She had asked with a smile. ‘Dating a bad boy. She must have seen it coming, don’t you think so baby?’_

 

Zayn lets go of Harry’s body and stumbles backwards. “I’m sorry. I have to go.” Zayn says, not even looking at Harry before he made his way outside. He bumped into Niall who asked him where he was going, he didn’t reply, it was like all the voice had been drained from his insides.

 

He was going to do it again. He couldn’t believe himself. If Liam was here, he’d probably frown at his condition and maybe slap some sense into him. But he was all alone, walking down the streets, looking for a cab. Perrie. The name is repeating in his head; he can’t seem to think much. He gets a cab home, and it’s around eleven when he reaches.

 

Perrie wasn’t home. He’s devastated and drunk to be waiting, so when he finds the bed waiting for him, he collapses right on top of it.

 

The next morning Zayn wakes up with the sound of somebody yelling. His eyes open wide to see Perrie yelling on her phone. She pauses to blow a kiss at him, then walks out of the room, continuing to yell. She’s probably on line with her brother who doesn’t follow her diet plans then complains about her stupid programs on ‘finding yourself’.

 

Zayn’s smiling until he realizes what had happened last night. The feeling of regret washes over him, and he shakes his head, proceeding to take a shower. He had promised himself and Perrie that he would never let anything like that happen again.

 

The breakfast is eggs, which aren’t his favourite but Perrie tells him that he ‘needs energy’ to work and eggs are important. She doesn’t ask him any questions about last night, and he’s thankful for that. “A little too much alcohol?” She finally asks when he’s sipping on his tea and glancing at the cover photo of TIME magazine. “Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I wanted to wait for you but my head was starting to hurt.” Zayn apologizes.

 

“It’s okay, love. Do you need me to make some mushroom soup for you?” She asks him while putting the plates away. “Maybe for lunch?” Zayn asks. She nods with a smile, placing a kiss on his lips before making her way towards the kitchen, humming happily. Zayn remembers leaving his phone in his art room. He needed to see if the principal had done anything about his promotion.

 

He’s walking upstairs, he could hear Perrie ask him something. “What?” He yells back when he’s opening the door. He doesn’t even mean to look at his window when he picks up his phone from the table beside his paint cans. Harry’s right there, staring at him.

 

“Harry is a nice guy, yeah? Try spending more time with him. I really feel bad about his parents splitting up since he’s close with his father!” Perrie yells at him from the kitchen. Harry’s smiling then, all teeth and dimples. Then he starts taking off his shirt and Zayn stares like the shameless man he is.

 

But he doesn’t do anything else. He grabs something from his nightstand, it’s his phone. He points at it and then points at Zayn. Then, Zayn’s phone beeps. The art teacher looks at his phone to see a new message from an unknown number.

 

UN: Save my number.

 

Zayn doesn’t have to think to figure out who it could be. But then, Harry’s closing the curtains and he’s frowning.

 

Z: That wasn’t supposed to happen.

 

H: Shut up, Zayn. I’m so tired of your bullshit. You tell me that you don’t want it, then stare at me like you want to devour me.

 

Z: Then you should stop stripping when I walk into this room.

 

H: No, it’s fun to watch you.

 

Z: when Perrie and I first came to see your family… you were staring a lot at her, I thought you were onto her.

 

H: oh that

 

H: I was just wondering how you’d bruise her skin while fucking her

 

Z: fuck, I don’t bruise her skin.

 

H: Figured, she’s too soft according to you. She isn’t a fan of the hard, dirty work, she wants to be clean and prepared.

 

Z: stop talking like you know everything

 

H: she’s easy to read, mate. Don’t you blame me.

 

H: I just reallllly wanted to suck you off

 

Z: Haha no

 

H: that’s not what you’ll be saying when you see me on my knees

 

Zayn wants to come up with a witty remark, but just imagining Harry on his knees, with his pink lips and his hair down, he forgets to type. “Zayn?! Are you even here?!” Perrie’s yelling again. Zayn decides not to reply and walk downstairs.

 

He might actually be better off with The Walters beside him.

 

In the evening, Zayn and Perrie meet Liam and Nakshathra in a café just to talk and mainly because to discuss the wedding. “We’re having our wedding in Italy.” Nakshathra says. “Liam’s wanted to have it done there, and I love Italy. So yeah, a bit expensive but we’re fine with the amount for now.”

 

“Oh, that’s nice. You’ll still be living in your house here, yeah?” Perrie asks. “Will be horrible if you guys move out. Liam’s our baby and we’d like to see him every other day.”

 

“Of course, Perrie.” Nakshathra is laughing, Liam is smiling too. “We’ll be living here. We just wanted you to know that it’s all set up and we’re just planning on a proper date.”

 

“That’s good, yeah. So happy for you, little bean.” Perrie’s pulling Liam’s cheeks and Nakshathra is laughing. Everything is moving so fast, Zayn’s trying to find out the meaning behind each of Perrie’s words, wondering if she’s feeling like they’re going too slow. He needs to make sure they’re on the same page.

 

“Zayn,” Nakshathra says, catching the dreamy boy’s attention. “I showed your painting of Perrie to one of our professors in the university. Said he’d like to meet you and stuff. He’s in touch with loads of art institutes and they offer so many scholarships, you might get into UAL with that.”

 

“What?” Zayn asks, completely surprised by the topic. “That’s great but… why did you…”

 

“I might have something to do with that.” Liam says, eyes shifting to Perrie who grins. “Me too.” She says.

 

“Oh come on, you guys.” Zayn says. “You didn’t just do that for me.”

 

“Excuse me, I did it. I told Nakshathra to talk to the professor. Perrie might have sent me the picture. I told her that since you’ve already done a foundation diploma in Art and Design, you might as well continue with your work. Not as a middle school art teacher, I tell you.” Liam says. Zayn wants to cry, but he doesn’t. He laughs and tells Liam he’s an idiot.

 

Then he excuses himself to go to the washroom, and of course Liam decides to go along with him. When they’re in private, Zayn pulls Liam into a tight hug. “Fuck, I love you.” He mutters on his shoulder. “You actually got me a chance.”

 

Liam doesn’t say anything. He smiles and pats Zayn’s shoulder. “Well mate, I just tried. Now you’ve got to do your best and impress the dude. I heard he’s pretty tacky. But nothing that Zayn Malik can’t handle, yeah?”

 

“You bet your arse.” Zayn states proudly with a laugh when he lets go of Liam.

 

Zayn’s so happy that he’s all smiles on the way home. Perrie notices that and smiles too, her arm wraps around Zayn, then she asks, “Can I go to Mindy’s party tonight?” Zayn’s smile disappears at that. “Why?” He asks.

 

“Because…Mindy is our boss. And she invited us for a really nice party at her beautiful apartment in One Canada Square. Come on Zayn, you can always ring up Liam to crash at?”

 

“You’re staying there?”

 

“She might have told some of us to stay over for a good morning routine.” Perrie almost whispered when they were at their door. The thing is, Mindy King is one of Perrie’s ‘leaders’ in the institution where she worked. The ‘leader’ might be one of the people that tops Zayn’s most hated people’s list. “Pretty please?” Perrie whispers when she closes the door behind her.

 

“Fine, but only because you’re allowing pizza today.” Zayn says. Perrie grins and nods happily before kissing him hard on the lips.

 

Harry’s flipping through pages. His phone has been getting notifications from a group he had been added in. He wasn’t a social person, but he needed to get in touch with people here and make friends. He reads the messages, doesn’t try to put his own thoughts into whatever conversation the people were currently having.

 

He’s made three friends since the first semester. Or something. Josh and Joshua, those two dark skinned guys. He remembers their names because they’re basically the same and because they helped him find his classes. Then there’s a red head named Roger. Harry tried not to make a joke out of that.

 

It’s almost dark and people are asking him if he’s up for a party. He really isn’t. He was sat on his porch, staring outside and wondering if they should get a dog or something. Then he sees her, Perrie walking out of the house looking all pretty. She waits on the sidewalk for a moment before a car stops right in front of her. She’s laughing when she gets in, and waves at someone.

 

Then Harry sees Zayn stood on his porch, looking smug and waving like a dead man. The car drives off, and Zayn stands there for some more minutes. Then his eyes land at Harry, he doesn’t do anything else. He gets in and Harry starts to think. Maybe Zayn’s going to be alone tonight.

 

“Mom!” He calls off from the porch as he gets up. “I’ll be back in a minute!”

 

And then he rushes off, straight to Zayn’s door. He rings the bell three times. Zayn opens the door with a devastating look on his face. “What do you want, Harry?” He asks. Harry pushes him aside and walks inside. Zayn curses and tells him to take off his shoes, Harry tries to take them off slowly but he ends up kicking them to a side.

 

He pushes Zayn to a wall and sinks on his knees. Zayn’s brain is panicking and his heart is beating so fast, he doesn’t know what to do anymore. “Fuck Harry, what’s up with you?” Zayn asks, trying to push his head but ends up pulling at his hair which results into a delicious moan from Harry.

 

Harry pulls his jeans down and starts mouthing at his clothed cock from his briefs. Zayn’s hands tangle into Harry’s hair, unable to take it as he finally stops pushing Harry off him, and started holding him closer. “Wanted this, for so fucking long,” Harry whispers, taking his briefs down and then Zayn’s cock slaps at his face. He whimpers at that, but then wraps his hand around it and starts jerking off slowly.

 

“Shit, Harry.” Zayn grunts. “Didn’t know you wanted it this bad.”

 

“You don’t know a lot of things, Mr. Malik.” Harry says with a smile as he licks at the leaking head. Zayn’s hands are on his head, pushing him closer to take it all in. Harry’s a fucking tease, he takes his time, kitten licks around before wrapping his lips around the head and goes down slowly.

 

Zayn’s a moaning mess, his back aching against the wall, his hands going numb around Harry’s hair. The younger lad is doing everything he can to turn Zayn into a miserable man, more than he already is, and Zayn’s falling into it. Deep. “Stop, I’m about to come.” Zayn barely breaths out. Harry does pull off, but continues jerking him off fast.

 

“Come on my face.” Harry says. The words are enough to let it all out. Zayn comes with a pant, breathing heavily as he looks at Harry who’s rubbing his eyes then licking his fingers happily. “Are you okay?” Zayn asks him, covering himself up and pulling his jeans up.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine as hell.” Harry says, getting up. “I think I’ll see you soon, Mr. Malik.” Then he heads for the door.

 

“Wait, wash your face,” Zayn’s saying, completely panicking as he holds Harry’s arm. “Oh.” Harry mutters, turning back. “Maybe we can have another round. Maybe you can fuck me.”

 

“Uh, you know what, you should just go.” Zayn suggests. Harry laughs, his face still looks a little fucked up, but nothing too suspicious. Then he walks out and closes the door. He recollects the image of Harry on his knees, his lips around him and his _god so beautiful_ face covered in all of Zayn.

 

Then Gigi’s image pops into his head, and she’s laughing. _‘This is you, Zayn. You don’t change.’_

 

He might need to light up a cigarette to feel better about the horrible things he had done in the past few days, and the horrible things that he’s sure that he’s going to do if his _god so beautiful_ neighbour boy continues jumping on him like that.

 

The next day is a Monday, and he remembers that he has to meet Nakshathra after his classes today. Perrie isn’t home when he leaves for school next morning, she had texted him saying that she’ll be leaving for work from Mindy’s house and then she’ll be sure to treat Zayn very nicely.

 

He tries not to think too much about yesterday and focuses on his work. “Mr. Malik,” One of the students called out for him. His breath hitched at that, remembering just how Harry called him out yesterday. “Yes, Steph?” He looks at the little girl in the front row with a frown on her face.

 

“You told us to draw any person that we like for our project. Can you draw someone that you like too?” She asks with an innocent smile. Everybody in the class went silent and waited for Zayn’s answer. “Okay, I will.” Zayn replies.

 

“Nice. But not your girlfriend, sir. You’ve already showed us, don’t trick us!” She says with a laugh, everybody in the class starts talking about Perrie then. Zayn frowns and sinks down on his chair, glancing at his phone on the table which beeped. A message from Harry.

 

Harry: You coming to McDonalds?

 

Zayn: I’m in class

 

Harry: I thought you worked???

 

Zayn: I’m a teacher

 

Harry: right

 

Harry: Mr. Malik (:

 

“No phones in class, sir!” A boy calls out. He rolls his eyes and starts talking about the submission dates for the assignments given to the kids. He wonders whom he should draw for the project. Drawing Perrie is simple, she’d even pose if you ask her to. She’ll stay in the same position for a long time and Zayn was grateful for that. She’d keep him running.

 

The times passes quickly, he finds himself placing his files on the desk as Michelle looks at him suspiciously. “What?” He finally asks with a frown when he grabs his bag. “Something has changed.” She says. “What are you hiding?”

 

Zayn’s heart is beating like a drum when she asks that. Then she starts laughing so loudly that everybody in the teachers’ lounge has to look at her to make her stop. “Sorry.” She apologizes quickly to the people before looking back at Zayn. Her red lip seemed more dangerous than usual. “I knew something was up. This trick always works, what did you do?” She asks excitedly.

 

“Nothing. I need to go now, see you tomorrow.” Zayn huffs and leaves in a hurry. Michelle watches him go before going back to correcting papers. He drives towards UCL, humming to the song playing on the radio. He hasn’t heard it before, the sound is new and the singer has to be new. He’s been so disconnected with music after he started working in this school and forgot that the television existed, it sucked.

 

He remembers singing in a band when he was in the university. Liam said he was good and Perrie wanted them to continue with music. But then Zayn got disconnected with the rest of the members, who were Luke and Ashton, then they left for Australia and he was just here. In their time they performed small gigs in bars and around. People liked them because they could sing a bit and because they were a group of good looking guys. He still has their number in case they wanted to meet up. They knew where he lived so it was alright.

 

Luke and Ashton kept in touch with him. They’re currently engaged to each other and are still learning music. They’re hoping to make it big someday. Zayn hopes that they do. He would tell Perrie about Luke and Ashton being together and doing what they do best, but he knew that the news of people getting ‘engaged’, ‘married’ or even ‘having kids’ made her a little weird for a few days.

 

Zayn knows that she wants him to do it. His parents want him to do it. But he’s scared, he doesn’t know if he could. He does think about it when he looks at her when she isn’t looking at him, he was sure for some days then something or the other comes up and he’s scared again.

 

And now, now couldn’t be the best time to think about marriage.

 

When he parks his car on the side, he stares up at the university building. God, he hates this place. Just looking at it makes him remind of his days as a student here. All of his mistakes coming back to him, everything that he had done. Everyone he had broken in here. He gets out, makes his way inside and looks around for Nakshathra.

 

“Mr. Malik!”

 

He doesn’t have to think twice to figure out who’s calling for him. It’s Harry, jogging towards him with a smile on his face. He’s wearing a stupid green beanie which covers his wild hair, and bloody shorts which show off his legs. The t-shirt says ‘rock n roll’ and his dimples are popping like always. “Missed me too much?” Harry asks with a grin.

 

“No. I came here to meet a friend.” Zayn says, looking around until he spots Nakshathra sat on a bench, typing on her laptop. Zayn starts walking towards her and Harry decides to follow him around. “Yeah? Why?” Harry asks.

 

“I have a meeting with a Professor here. Art stuff.” Zayn replies. Nakshathra is quick to look up from her laptop, smiling at Zayn and waving happily at him. “Hey, sorry, I was going to come over to the gate to see you but I really have to finish this assignment here.” She says when Zayn sits down beside her on the bench.

 

“Oh it’s alright, this is Harry,” Zayn introduces his neighbour. “He’s a freshman here. He actually shifted some days ago with his family beside me.”

 

“Hello, nice to meet you. What are you studying?” Nakshathra asks him while grabbing something from her bag. “Management studies. And you?” Harry asks.

 

She closes her laptop and places it carefully in her bag before putting on her student id. “Designing. Come on, we should go. Professor Spencer doesn’t like waiting, and he’s going for a meeting today so we shouldn’t be late.” Zayn’s nodding, she walks ahead of him, waving a goodbye to Harry too.

 

“I’ll see you,” Harry says. “Tonight.”

 

“Fuck you.” Zayn mutters, turning around to follow Nakshathra. “You will be, Mr. Malik!” Harry basically yells shamelessly. Zayn wants to be angry and maybe turn around to slap him, but he’s walking away with a smile on his face.

 

He’s fucked. Again.

 

When Harry was a child, his father was like any other doting one. They went out to play football, his father loved the sport and made Harry love it too. But when Harry came into his pre-teens, he became distant with the old man. Mainly because he worked all the time and barely came home. There would be times when he’d feel his brain go crazy and his heart rate increasing suddenly.

He was sure that he was going to die back then. But his mother would always tell him that everything would be fine, he was going to be fine and the pain that he felt happened to every growing child. His dad would never ask him how he was doing. Whether he was sick or the world was ending—when he was there, he would always make him play on the field.

All the pain and sadness did wash away. He started ignoring the ache in his heart when his father wouldn’t be there for his birthday, or when he achieved something in his classes. Gemma on the other hand was used to the old man not being there, so he started learning it all from her. Then again, his mother was the best parent he could ask for.

His father always made him play football when he was home. And he would make Harry run for it, roll in the mud and reach out to the goal. They would play and play until Harry couldn’t stand anymore. When his father gave him a chance to live with him when they split up, he completely denied him and decided to stay back with his mother.

Desmond Styles was surprised at that. But he didn’t utter a single word. He just looked at Anne and said, ‘My doors are open if the children need me.’ Anne was crying then; Harry didn’t know what it was so emotional about it so he kept quiet. He noticed that even Gemma was in the verge of tears. He was half sure that he might be dying. He wanted to be sad—but every night that Anne had spent crying made him hate his father even more.

“You coming in for some?” Josh asks him when he’s thinking about his father. Harry chuckles before shaking his head. The three guys groan disappointedly. “Come on, Harry. Don’t you want to open up? Feel the world stop and enjoy the moment? Just one try, you’ll start loving it.” Roger is saying, wrapping his arm around Harry’s shoulder while grinning at Joshua.

“Well appreciated lads. But I need to go, got a family thing today.” He lies.

They buy it. They leave him alone and he finds himself walking back home. It’s far, he always takes a cab but now it was time to save money for once. Jesse had tried calling Harry and he almost cried when he saw his old mate’s name flash on the screen. He wouldn’t pick up. At least not yet. Jesse and him weren’t the closest, but they talked almost every week during school. Jesse was the one who tried to help him get laid.

When he’s by his porch, he could hear music playing from his neighbour’s backyard. Somebody is playing the guitar and singing beautifully. He’s curious as he makes way to his own backyard, and is surprised when he sees what’s actually happening.

Zayn is sat on a bean bag, tuning the guitar and laughing. Three guys that he has never seen before are cheering, and Perrie isn’t there. Zayn can see him; he knows it well. The fence separating them is small enough to jump through, but Harry stays where he is and tries not to step on the plants that Gemma had warned him about _. ‘I spent a lot of time in that, Harry. If you accidentally break any, I’m shaving your head off.’_ He remembers those words quiet well to be careful. The three guys are facing Zayn, they don’t notice him and he’s glad about that. They’re all sat on bean bags and he remembers that he had to buy one for his room.

“Alright, so this one that I had wrote back then,” Zayn is saying loud enough for him to hear. “The one that Luke tuned, and the lyrics that I forgot. I remembered some, so it’s something.” And then he starts playing his guitar. Harry is smiling like an idiot when Zayn looks right at him.

‘Well, I like the way your hair falls in your face  
You got the keys to me  
I love the dimples on your face, oh  
I've never been so wrapped up, honey  
I like the way you're everything I ever wanted.’

Zayn’s looking at him when he sings. Harry would hide behind a tree just to be careful, but his backyard doesn’t have a tree, so if any of the guys turn around, he’s fucked. So he’s at the door of his backyard, ready to run in if they turn. Zayn’s almost laughing as he finishes. Harry decides to go inside when two of the guys get up and cheer loudly.

His mother is right there, staring at him like he’s a ghost. “What were you doing back there?” She asks before laughing. “Zayn sings! His voice is lovely, isn’t it?” She continues to pour water in the kettle. Harry rolls his eyes before heading up to his room. Gemma doesn’t seem to be home right now.

He sits down on his bed and stares out of the window. He could see Zayn’s art room. At first when he noticed Zayn looking at him when he was changing, he hadn’t meant to keep the curtains open. But he was in a hurry and he didn’t think anybody would see him from there. But the lights came out brightly all of the sudden from the other side and he saw the man staring at him.

The next time he saw Zayn just there as if he had been waiting for Harry, he wanted to put on a show. It was an awful idea, but when he saw Zayn touch himself, he didn’t feel that embarrassed. He doesn’t want to do this to Perrie. The woman is nice to him, she’s probably nice to every human. But from the moment he saw Zayn, and the way that they first met, something was bound to happen.

‘Such a cliché, Styles. At least you’re getting some.’ Jesse would have said if he was here.

Then he lays down on his bed and decides to get away from reality for a while.

“We sold everything and went to Malibu.” Ashton is saying while munching on potato chips that he had bought along. Boy needed to eat. “We were so scared, but we started performing small gigs. In public and shit until this dude from a fine restaurant gives us his card and asks us if we’ll be interested to perform there. And damn, Zayn. People loved us.”

Luke is nodding with a smile. Zayn is surprised that he actually got a lip piercing. He used to tell everyone that he would get one soon, but Zayn thought he was just kidding about it. “And then we performed around Cali, decided to come back to Australia and chill when he had enough money. Made quite a few, and now we have a meeting with _Sony Music Entertainment_. Sony, Zayn. _Sony_.”

“Good for you lot.” Zayn replies with a smile. “Just glad that you’re doing what you wanted.”

“Would’ve been great if you were with us.” Luke finds himself saying before looking at Ashton who nods with a laugh. “But hey, here you are. Teaching kids about art.”

“Shut up, arsehole.” Zayn mutters with a smile.

“Where’s Perrie? You guys are married or what?” Ashton asks. Liam laughs. “Married? Far from it. They live together. Perrie must be working now. She works at a Yoga Centre, the popular one around here. I don’t know what it’s called. All hippie stuff.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” Luke says with a smile. “It’s nice to know you’re still together. She’s really nice, yeah? Knows you for years and stuff. You told her about us?”

“Yeah. She knows that you’re on your path to being famous.”

“No, not that. About us being engaged. Since you have to come to the wedding.” Ashton says before Luke could. “The date and stuff isn’t decided but it’s definitely going to be in the States.”

“Jesus, I’m going to be poor after I go to the states, then Italy. God.” Zayn grumbles, eyes shifting to Liam who’s smiling innocently at the duo. “At least you both are doing well. If you need any promoting, you can always put up Zayn’s photos as album art. People like pretty things.” Liam suggests.

“That’s a nice idea.” Luke and Ashton say at once. Zayn might hate his old friends.

Perrie’s been distant.

He knows it. Zayn knows it very well. She doesn’t talk much unless it’s about food or his family, or anything else that doesn’t include them. When he tells her that the professor that he met for his work wanted to see him again on a Saturday, she smiles and tells him that he was going to get it. That’s it. Then she starts her hippie music and starts her usual yoga routine in the living room.

The realization hits him. Something isn’t right, Perrie isn’t this reserved. She loves to talk about anything. She’ll talk about the wonders of the planet if she wants to. So when they’re in bed within an appropriate distance, he asks her if something is wrong.

“Just tired. Mindy was like, going crazy today. Had to run from first floor to fourth floor, too tired. You think too much, baby.” She says with a laugh. Zayn chuckles and shrugs it off. Then she’s asleep.

Zayn doesn’t believe that.

The next few days go by fast, and Easter is here. Harry still gave him the shows and he watched intently. They don’t talk, they text sometimes because Zayn is busy with school and Harry has his assignments in the Uni. Zayn draws in his free time. He draws what he likes for the project he had given to his students.

When Easter holidays hit him, he realizes he has two weeks to sleep soundly. But his parents have something else in their minds.

“You should visit! All the girls are here and it would be lovely to see you and Perrie again.” His mother is talking sweetly on the phone. Zayn isn’t sure. “We’re going to visit this summer, mum.”

“It wouldn’t hurt if you do visit now.” She’s angry, he can feel it. She’s on the verge of yelling. “I’ll talk to Perrie about this. Yeah?” He’s almost at the door. He had just got off from work and Michelle had wished him a great Easter free of kids who weren’t going to pester him for eggs. She didn’t know that Perrie was just like a kid when it came to Easter.

“Good. And have you thought about it?” She asks the question. “No. I’ll call you later.” He replies before cutting the call. He’s far from that phase and he knows it. He’s not sure if Perrie wants this anymore, ever since she became a little distant, she won’t even let him touch her. “It’s that time of the month, Zayn.” She always says.

She said that for three days. Then Zayn stopped trying and she didn’t mind. It’s clearly wrong.

When Zayn tells her about meeting up with his family, she lights up. “That’s great! I wanted to see your sisters again. Maybe we could stay there for two days? I do have work, you know.” She’s excited. She’s checking her phone and telling him about all the chats she had with Safaa about her college and Walihya wanting to join a strip club instead of studying—which made Zayn freak out but then Perrie assured it was a joke, and Doniya completely busy with her work to even sleep on her bed.

Perrie’s on the phone with his mother and they’re chatting happily. Everything seems fine again, so Zayn doesn’t think too much. Soon they’re packing their bags and Perrie’s so happy that it felt like those gloomy days were just a lie. Maybe it was just the time of the month.

“Hey, can you give this to the neighbours? Gemma let me borrow it.” Perrie’s handing him a fancy bag. “Not my bag, do not look at me like that.” She continues with a smile. Zayn rolls his eyes but nods. It’s about nine and it’s so dark outside, it all feels creepy. He rings the doorbell and waits.

Of course it’s Harry who opens the door. “Oh my, you missed me. Didn’t you?” Harry asks with a grin. Zayn wants to scoff but he stares at the boy for a moment. His hair was tied into two ponytails which looked ridiculous—and adorable as hell. Then again his dimples always made Zayn swoon. “Yes, terribly. Take this, Perrie borrowed this from Gemma.” Zayn says, handing Harry the fancy bag.

“Okay.” Harry replies, taking it. They stand there awkwardly for a moment before Zayn looks around his own house, then behind Harry. “What are you doing?” Harry asks with a frown.

Zayn takes a step forward, his hands on Harry’s cheeks as he pulls him closer and presses his lips against the younger male’s. Harry almost has let go of the bag he was holding, it felt like fireworks were exploding inside his stomach and it was such a rush that he forgot how to breath. Zayn biting on his lower lip and licking into his mouth like it was his favourite thing to do.

Something like they did always—but this was the first time Zayn had touched him like this, and he had to kiss his lips, making him forget what he was doing. Zayn’s lips were soft against his own, and Harry felt like he needed to kiss him every single day.

Zayn Malik—the neighbour he decided to have fun with was kissing him like he was the only one he cared about. Harry melted into the kiss for a moment before Zayn pulled back quickly and laughed. “Oh well, I do things without a warning. Forgive me for that.” He’s blabbering but Harry’s looking at the ground, wondering what had just happened.

“Anyways, I’ll see you around. Yeah?” Zayn says before walking out of their property. Harry stands there for a second before touching his lower lip with his index finger.

Zayn Malik—the neighbour who was meant to be nothing, the one who should have fucked him like he had thought Zayn would when he realized he just wanted fun, was his first kiss ever and it made him lose his mind.

“Harry? What are you doing there? Who was it?” It’s Gemma. Yelling like she always does, looking down at Harry’s hands and snatching her bag. “Oh. Perrie must have returned it.” She’s saying. Harry quickly presses his lips together and nods before rushing back inside. Gemma watches him suspiciously, but he doesn’t care about it.

Zayn Malik was fucking everything up.

Holidays hit fast. Harry’s staring up at the ceiling of his room. The weather here hasn’t been good to him lately. He loves spring, he really does. It’s when Gemma and Anne make the best dishes and his favourite cousins decide to pay a visit. Easter should always be in spring according to Harry’s mind and it’s snowing right now.

His room is cold, the heater isn’t working in here and his mother had knocked on his door seven times warning him to come out or he’ll freeze in there. He wishes that he could. The moment the heater broke down, only his heater, he wanted to die. Gemma offered to give her room up, Anne said he could always share the bed with her and she’ll cuddle him just like she did when he was a baby. Gemma laughed so hard at that, Anne had to calm her down. Harry was just scoffing before putting his pride before needs, telling them he was meant for this weather.

He manages to groan his way out of the bed and take a hot shower. He really doesn’t jerk off to the thoughts of his hot neighbour.

When he walks out of his room looking like a decent human, he can already smell the aroma filling up the house from the kitchen. He rushes downstairs and walks into the kitchen to see Gemma humming to some music while taking out a pie from the oven. “Gem, is that…” He starts off when he looks at the masterpiece in her hands. She cuts him off with, “Yes, little bean. It is the chocolate bourbon pecan pie you’ve been _dying_ for.”

He almost squeals, hugging her tightly and placing a wet kiss on her cheek. “Ew, go away.” She shoos him off but her dimples say different. Anne is talking on the phone quietly, her eyes heavy as if she didn’t get much sleep last night and she’s sat on the sofa, staring at the television which was telecasting local news.

The moment Harry settles down peacefully on the couch, their doorbell goes off. “HARRY!” Gemma’s already starting to yell. He grumbles while getting him, his feet barely making their way fast enough to the door. The person on the other side rings the bell three more times which only makes Gemma yell louder. “OH MY GOD GEM SHUT UP!” Harry yells back when he’s at the door.

He opens it with a frown but he’s instantly hugged by two people. “Oh my, what is up with your hair? I thought you were going to cut it!” Matty’s hands are in his hair, pulling the ends and Ben is quite amused too. “Leave the boy alone,” Ella’s voice is heard behind them.

“I thought you said long hair suits me?” Harry’s saying but Matty has already moved in, yelling Gemma’s name. “He’s just here for the pies, leave him. I think you look adorable, Haz.” Ella’s hugging him now, he grins and hugs her back.

Anne is back from her call, hugging all of them and kissing their cheeks as they talk about Ben’s band practicing for the X-Factor, Matty’s deal with Tara Ivan’s fashion line and Ella’s interview with JK Rowling. It’s all a great conversation, but Harry’s eyes are glued to the window. He can see Zayn walking out with Perrie, there’s a guy who gets the bag from Perrie’s hand and starts laughing at something. Then they disappear into a car and drive away.

“Earth to Harry!” Matty’s all over his face. “Who’s got you so whipped? And how’s Uni coming along for you? Smoked a blunt yet?”

“Matty!” Anne is furious at that, more likely surprised but Ben and Matty high-five each other while laughing their arses off. Gemma is telling everybody about her pie, and Harry’s eyes are on her but he can’t seem to hear the words.

Zayn.

That’s all he could hear. It made him want to laugh, and cry. He wasn’t sure if he was planning on this.

Perrie’s singing along to a song Zayn has never heard before. He doesn’t ask her about it when she’s telling him that she’s in love with this tune. His family lives in Bradford and he loves being here. This was the only place he could lie down on his bed and stare at the posters, remembering his school and college life here. Going to London for further studies changed him so much, this place was the realization and his mother always cries when he visits after an interval of at least three months.

It should be annoying, really, but he just smiles and pulls her into a long hug. His father asks him about his work and Perrie about hers, that’s all that it takes for two hours of Perrie’s broadcast to the Malik family about every funny incident that had happened when she was home. His family loves her, he knows it well, that’s why when she’s helping Safaa out with her homework they look at him and their eyes say _do it_.

“I’m thinking about it.” He finally says it. Trisha was so happy when he said that, his father looked pleased too and Perrie didn’t even bother listening when Walihya continued to tell her about the events that had happened in the drama class.

“Oh God no, I need all the chocolates. Bourbon, throw them on my face.” Matty is saying when Gemma’s showing them the Easter eggs that she had gotten. “No, definitely not throwing them on your face. Maybe Harry’s.” She replies with a smile. Harry’s eating his chocolate pecan pie peacefully, he doesn’t care if his cousins bully the hell out of him. Ella’s showing some pictures to Anne who couldn’t stop smiling at them and Ben is telling Matty about the grounds nearby where they could hunt since their backyard was too small.

“There’s still time for Easter Sunday.” Harry mutters.

“Shut up, Harry. Where you always this boring?” Ben asks with a smile. Harry doesn’t bother replying and continues to eat. Gemma just gives him one of her ‘looks’ before calling Louis again. Her boyfriend was supposed to visit on Sunday. “You can swim in money when you get married. He probably has a pool of money hidden. Maybe a torture room too.” Harry says when she’s gushing about her ‘incredible’ boyfriend making time to visit her.

“And the funny Harry is back.” Ella announces. Harry smiles.

Zayn’s never been this depressed when he’s spending time with his family. Everything is wrong. Perrie’s the same, she compliments his mother’s cooking and his father’s incredible tea skills. Then she lets Doniya put makeup on her for a tutorial to be up on her channel. She accompanies Walihya outside for a run and plays a video game with Safaa.

But Perrie isn’t the same. She doesn’t tell Zayn that his face shouldn’t be so gloomy all the time. She doesn’t yell at him when he stays too quiet during the family dinners and forgets to eat. She doesn’t cuddle with him during the night. She doesn’t tell him that his room still looks like a teenager’s room and he should probably change it. She doesn’t bring up Easter hunt. She doesn’t tell him to stop smoking when he opens a window.

Fuck. He realizes something is terribly wrong. Their last night in his house, he’s lying awake in his bed while Perrie ties her hair into a bun. She puts down the fitness book that she’s been reading for the past few days and turns off the lights. The moonlight lights up the room well enough that when Zayn turns his head, he can see her staring at the ceiling. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.” She replies.

“I know something isn’t right. Just tell me what it is. Something that I did?” He asks. He doesn’t look at her, but he feels her eyes on him. “I—I’m sorry. This was supposed to be a good thing. Us being with your family and all, but Zayn, I can’t—I don’t get it.” She’s saying, her voice is breaking and he’s confused.

“I don’t know if you still want to be with me.” She says. “I did get your daily dose of glooming and drawing but I walked into your art room. I know you said you don’t want any living soul there without your permission but I wanted to clean the room.”

Zayn’s heart is beating fast.

“Then I see your canvas, there’s an ongoing painting that I think is beautiful, it’s Harry. Isn’t it? Your drawing?” She’s asking him. He doesn’t say anything for a moment. “Yeah. It’s Harry. Just, wanted a muse. You know? My students wanted me to draw someone and it shouldn’t be you because you’re the only one that I used to draw. I had to think about someone fast.”

“Could be one of your sisters. If you needed inspiration, that is.” She says. Then she laughs. “But hey, I thought you were drawing…Gemma. They look similar, don’t they? Then I noticed that I could clearly see a room from your window. My heart died when I saw Gemma walk in there and wave at me. I thought you spend so much time there because you watch her.”

“Pez, no.” Zayn says. His mind is mushed up and he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “That’s Harry’s room. I see that teenager sometimes and he doesn’t even notice me. You thought that I…”

“Yes.” She cut him off. “I thought you were cheating on me. Again.”

That word makes his body numb. “But hey, I was being such a child. Should have asked you straight away. I’m so sorry for that, I really shouldn’t have kept quiet. How dare you smoke in my presence?” She’s back into her old self. Zayn laughs at that, but his heart aches from the lies that she almost caught.

If Gigi knew about the mess he was currently in, she would just laugh and tell him that it’s exactly who he was.

He tries to sleep with Perrie’s arms around him, but eventually shifts to the side when she’s in deep slumber. He can’t even look at her.

Ben, Ella and Matty promise to come back for Easter Sunday. It’s in two days and Harry is dying. He’s in his bed, wondering when Zayn was coming back. The heater in his room is fixed and he’s grateful for that. There’s music playing on his speaker and he doesn’t want to get up. The art room has been vacant for three days and he misses seeing Zayn there.

Some days when Harry would come home from the Uni, he would see Zayn drawing there. Peacefully like he was meant to do this. Harry would just watch him silently while ‘Adore You’ would be playing on the speakers. He realized that he shouldn’t be doing that.

‘You know,’ Jesse had once said to him during lunch. ‘The best way to start a relationship… be good at sex. And you like the guy with the great arse, don’t you?’

‘I didn’t even notice that.’ Harry had muttered. ‘I just liked his face. And his humour.’

‘Oh my, look at my innocent virgin.’ Jesse scoffed. ‘Be good at sex, yeah? Learn it from the older ones. Go fuck a hooker—or get fucked by one if you like. Or, or, if you want the money saving method, just go and fuck a milf tired of her life. Then you’ll understand the basics, that’s all it takes to establish a great long lasting relationship with the ones here. I tell you that.’

‘That’s stupid.’

‘No, angel. You need to please the person, yeah? Seduction is all that it gets to the need. Louis is an older guy; he probably has experience. Or maybe just ignore my advice and play the innocent girl. Maybe guys like that.’ Jesse had suggested with a grin. Harry didn’t think too much about it and continued with the ‘friendship’ that he had with Louis.

When they shifted here, Harry falling on top of Zayn wasn’t intentional. It was just Zayn’s reaction that had amused him. He knew that he wanted—he wanted it. He wanted Zayn to use him, he wanted it all. He won’t admit it, Zayn Malik, his hot neighbour with a great smile wanted him too, and Harry wanted to make a deal with Zayn, keep it all nonchalant. Then maybe find a guy or girl from his classes.

There were some great looking people there, but he would find himself thinking about Zayn at night. Not the girl who asked him how he got his hair to stay like that, or the guy who once said that he had great dimples. He thinks about Zayn, the Zayn who lies with Perrie and talks about marrying her someday.

He might have fucked it all up when he took Jesse’s advice.

Perrie doesn’t want to celebrate Easter with her family this year.

“Let’s ask our neighbours what they’re doing.” That’s the first thing she says when they reach home from the trip to Zayn’s parents. “What?” Zayn finds himself asking.

“Yeah. It’s their first one here, let’s make it nice. Ask them what they’re doing and all that.” Perrie’s back to her cheerful self. He doesn’t try to oppose that idea, but there’s a certain tension when he realizes what had happened the last time he had seen the boy.

He doesn’t even remember why— _why_ he kissed Harry. He just looked amazing in the moment and Zayn just _went_ for it. So he closes his eyes for a moment and repeats the words.

_‘This is fine. You’re just stressed, once you figure out with the engagement you’ll stop all of this.’_

“So,” She starts off when he’s browsing through the television. “I called Gemma and asked her what she was doing. Turns out, they were planning on having this happy Easter Sunday with a couple of their cousins and her boyfriend, and she would love if we could join them. They’re going to have an Easter hunt and the one who wins gets a blueberry cream pie and lots of love. I want a blueberry cream pie.”

Zayn’s laughing. Perrie always gets super serious when it comes to Easter hunt. “Oh well, Perrie. Time to show them who’s the master, yeah?”

“Exactly.” Perrie said with a proud smile before cursing and rushing off to continue with her yoga routine.

Turns out Zayn always gets tired and lonely when Easter Sunday hits up. Perrie—Perrie is unstoppable. She used to rush to the neighbourhoods and wish the children, go to the church and attend the services. Then conduct hunts for the children in her neighbourhood. All the years that they were together, they spent Easter in Perrie’s house. Zayn had just noticed that when he didn’t see her brother growling about the great chocolates and her mother complaining about Zayn’s beard.

When Zayn’s back in Anne’s house, it’s very lively indeed. Something that Perrie loves. She’s glowing when she’s introduced to Harry’s cousins. She pulls him to a side and whispers, “They’re all so tall. And beautiful.” Zayn scoffs at that. He can’t see Harry anywhere. It’s 10 am and Zayn wasn’t happy to be woken up at 9.

“Not really.” Zayn mutters. It’s her turn to scoff then. She gets into a great conversation with Matty, one of the cousins who’s into fashion and Zayn’s just there. He sits down at the couch all alone, wondering what was he doing here. He’s going through his phone when he feels somebody sit down beside him. “Happy Easter.”

He looks at Harry who’s staring at him. “Uh, yeah, Happy Easter. All good?” Zayn asks. Harry nods with a smile. “Yeah, good to be with those people. Perrie seems to like them.” He’s saying with a laugh, his hands going through his hair and dimples popping. Zayn just stares.

“Zayn?” Harry asks with a frown. “Sorry, yeah, she gets along with everyone. Thinks all of your cousins are tall. And beautiful.” Zayn says.

Harry smirks at that. “Oh yeah. Well we are an attractive lot, yeah?”

“Not really.”

“Oh my, your attitude doesn’t surprise me. Look at you.”

“What do you mean?” Zayn’s asking with a raised eyebrow.

“Like, you’re Greek God beautiful. People stop and stare at you before continuing with their life. It’s nice to see such attractive people in London.” Harry replies with a grin, his hands going through Zayn’s hair. “And I love your hair.”

Zayn wants to swat his hair away and maybe yell at him for destroying all that hairspray that Perrie had sprayed to make the hair stay in a quiff, but he doesn’t do anything. “Thanks. But your hair is ridiculously amazing. I love that.” Zayn says. Then they’re both laughing.

Louis is right there, his arm is around Gemma’s shoulder but he can see Zayn and Harry in their own world, away from the rest of them and he’s not sure what to do about it.

Turns out Louis, Perrie and Ben are the ones who are very serious about Easter hunt. They’ve taken a part of the private park Luis and hidden the eggs there. Zayn’s all about the great things that they’re going to eat after finishing with this thing that he doesn’t mind it. Gemma has a camera and she tells them that she’s just going to be taking pictures.

Perrie runs off like a happy child in the beautiful garden of the Luis park. There were many trees and bushes there, and Zayn doesn’t know what he’s going to do here when he notices Perrie’s long gone. The garden is really huge and he’s never been here. Perrie visited this place a few times and did recommend it to him. It just gave him inspiration for drawing, and he felt great again. The sun was hidden by the huge trees and he could hear someone walking right behind him. He turned around to see Harry walking towards him with an egg in his hand.

“Well, you seem to be enjoying this.” Harry says with a smile when he notices Zayn’s empty hands. “Never really had a thing for this. Perrie’s very excited though.” Zayn says with a laugh

“She is. Saw her fight Ben for an egg.”

“What? Really?”

“Really.” Harry says. “Was a great scene. Ben frowning and she was complaining about she saw it first. Ben gave up, of course. And don’t be surprised if you see a flash somewhere. It’s probably Gemma playing ninja and taking secret pictures for the pure candid look.”

“I can deal with that.” Zayn’s saying and then they’re walking together. It’s almost silent, the voices of their people fading away until they couldn’t hear a single person. “We’re far away from our decided place to hunt, mate.” Harry suddenly says when he stops.

“Really?” Zayn asks, looking around and sitting under a big tree. Harry nods. “We should go back; you know? They might be worried.”

“Ten eggs, Harry. It’ll take them a while.” Zayn’s saying. “Sit down.”

Harry does. But he sits right in front of Zayn on the grass and pulls at the collar of the shirt that the man was wearing, pulling him closer to kiss his mouth open. Zayn responded quickly, with his fingers in Harry’s hair and biting Harry’s lower lip.

It was nice for a moment. Just the two of them amongst the thick trees and bushes, hidden from the outer world and holding each other so tight. Zayn pulled away first, but he didn’t move away from Harry. Their foreheads were pressed together, and their eyes closed.

“You’re an idiot.” Zayn muttered.

“Huh?”

Zayn didn’t say anything, but he opened his eyes and kissed Harry again.

They realized that they might have spent too much time away. They decide to go back, only to find all of the eggs had been found except for one which Harry had, and everybody was worried about them. Perrie hugged Zayn so tight when she saw him that he almost felt his bones break. “I thought you got lost, shit. I tried calling you. Where were you?” She’s yelling all out. Zayn looks around to see Harry was getting the same treatment from his cousins, but Gemma was just watching Zayn with a frown on her face.

So it turns out Perrie got six eggs, winning the hunt. She’s so happy that Zayn doesn’t know why he’s dating a child.

“You should send me the pictures. She took some great ones!” Perrie’s saying while munching happily on her blueberry cream pie. “Sure, I will!” Gemma replies with a smile before placing a kiss on Louis’ cheek. Harry was sat beside Zayn on the table as everybody enjoyed the great food made by Anne. “How’s school?” Harry asks him when he notices Zayn completely out of the conversation that the rest of the people were having.

“Oh, great. Kids are a pain but they’re pretty entertaining too.” Zayn says and then realizes he actually does miss going to classes and seeing those pests. “There’s this seventh grader who always brings me what her mother sends her for lunch. Tells me that her mother told her to share it with her best friend. Fucking tear jerker, that one.”

Harry chuckles lightly at that. The rest of them were discussing about the fact that Karlie Kloss had visited Perrie’s yoga centre during her sessions some weeks ago and it was the best day of her life. But Zayn’s telling Harry about his adventures as a teacher, Harry listens quietly with a smile. Nobody notices it, but Gemma’s stealing glances.

Harry’s back in his room when all the people decide to leave. His eyes are stuck to the polaroid he had clicked, the memories flooding back into his mind. Before they got this house, Harry was stuck with Anna and Ian. Before they got this house in Westminster, he lived with the two of those in Ealing.

He wanted to go to UCL, but the house was occupied and the people there were taking so long to move that his parents had to set him up with some of their close friends in the city. He wanted to live within the University premises—but his parents just won’t have that.

Anna and Ian were twins. They lived together and worked as dentists in a clinic that they owned nearby. They were in their early 30s, really nice to Harry and made him feel like home during his first semester there. “Your mother used to help me out back then. I was so stupid; you know?” Anna used to tell him with a smile while sipping her coffee. “She was five years my senior, our parents were friends and we got along well. Ian was so whipped at her back then, I tell you.”

“I was not.”

“You were. Don’t lie to your other half.” Anna had said with a laugh.

It was great. But Ian was such a broken man, Harry was losing his mind at the end of the semester. “Life isn’t easy. You always fall in love with the wrong people.” He had said while smoking his lungs out. Harry just watched. Anna had been working late that night, so it was just the two of them on the balcony, staring at the busy streets. “Some kind of unrequited love?” Harry questioned.

“No. She loves me too. But it’s so wrong, Harry.” He shook his head and looked at Harry. “That’s why you always have to watch. You always end up with the wrong things, then blame yourself for that. But it’s just—you can’t stop it. You look at the person, you spend some time together and boom. There the seed is planted. You can’t do anything about it now.”

“Are you talking about…”

“Yes. I’m talking about her.” Ian said with a laugh. “So pathetic, I know. But she knows me best and now we live together. It’s amazing but I—I wanted so much more. She deserves to be happy too. I don’t know how long can we go on before somebody burns us out of the community.”

Harry hadn’t said anything back then. He just listened closely to Ian and promised not to tell his parents about it.

He does miss Ian and Anna. He wonders what they’ll be up to now. He looks up from the assignment that he had been doing for the past few minutes and smiles when he sees Zayn watching him from the other side. Zayn’s surprised, but he smiles back and then he winks. Harry wants to scoff at that, but Ian’s words at back in his head.

You always fall in love with the wrong people.

But then he laughs and winks back. It was the usual flirting that Harry knew the limits too. The casual thing that Zayn knew about. They were going to be careful—and with Zayn being in love with Perrie’s personality and touching Harry’s body, it was fine. Harry doesn’t mind that. He’s not jealous, because this is the casual thing Jesse had told him about. Not the stupid love Ian had warned him about.

Zayn leaves the room soon. Harry frowns at that, but it’s okay. He’s used to being alone anyways.

Turns out Gemma is the devil. Harry told her—specifically—that he wasn’t going on any of her ‘trips’ with Louis. But she wants to. “Come on Harry. This year it’s special. Three more people are tagging along!” She’s saying, pulling Harry’s cheeks. Louis is yelling on the phone, something about someone misplacing millions of pounds, no big deal for him.

“I don’t want to see Matty, Ella and Ben again.”

“Hey! Don’t say that! And, they’re not the ones I’m talking about.” Gemma’s smiling so wide that it looks dangerous. “It’s our neighbours. And a friend of theirs. The six of us, all happy and merry to Brighton Beach.”

“Brighton Beach.”

“Brighton Beach.” Gemma repeats with way more enthusiasm. “Couples room have offers, the hotel closest to the beach. Louis’ Easter treat to every nice human that he knows.”

“Oh my, I thought you invited me to come too?”

“You are nice.” Gemma scoffed. “A bit of a twat, but nice. And come on, you’ll be sharing couples room with Zayn.”

“Um, sorry?” Harry’s throat is dry, the way Gemma said that made him want to puke. “Yeah, no problem with that. Right? Their friend is a girl so Perrie is going to be sharing with her. So that leaves you and Zayn. You’ll be alright, yeah?” She asks, the honey dipped words filling his ears as he nods.

“Yeah sure. Zayn’s cool.” Harry muttered. She gave him one last look before skipping over to Louis. Anne was sat on the couch, reading the magazine and humming to herself. “There’s a famous model coming over here in some days,” She suddenly says. “Might as well try wooing her.”

“Huh. Models want money.” Harry’s eyes flickered over to Louis who wasn’t paying attention to him. He was rather trying to get Gemma off his face. “And, who is it anyways?”

“Oh. Some girl named Gigi. She studied at UCL too, funny, huh? Take a picture with her if you do see the lady. She’s very nice and pretty.” Anne’s smiling as she shows Harry the picture on the magazine cover. The blonde on the cover is pretty as she’s holding the American flag. “I guess she’s pretty. Anyways, you’re fine with Gemma rushing all of us to Brighton Beach? You should come along.” Harry says with a frown.

His mother giggles as she proceeds to pull his cheeks. “You’re adorable, baby. But no, I can’t because I need to stay away from beaches. Make me sick and tired. I’ll be fine here, you should have a good time! Yeah?”

“Okay.” He replies with a smile.

The ‘friend’ of Perrie and Zayn’s turns out to be Nakshathra. Liam wanted to tag along but he’s devoted to his study timetable and if he tries to have fun for three days, he’s failing for sure. Harry’s face has a devoted frown when he’s in Liam’s car, driving to the station. It would take them less than an hour from Victoria to Brighton. Harry was planning on sleeping soundly for some days, but Gemma just couldn’t have that. Gemma and Louis are loud in the car, Nakshathra is dozing off riding shotgun and Harry doesn’t even want to know what Zayn and Perrie are doing in the back.

Liam was placing a kiss on Nakshathra’s head while muttering about having fun. They were going to be staying there for two nights and three days. Harry was not prepared for that and he didn’t know why they had to go to Brighton of all the places.

Harry sleeps in the train, Gemma’s talking about the pier and Perrie’s getting excited about it. That’s all that he could hear when he dozed off. When he wakes up, Louis is shaking his shoulder so violently that he winced from the pain. “Sorry mate. We’re here.” The older man apologized with a smile, then skipped over to Gemma who was grabbing her bag.

Nakshathra and Harry became good friends. She joked about them being the only ones without their significant others in the trip. When they check into the hotel, Perrie’s asking Louis about the prices. “Excuse me, Perrie.” Harry butts in before Louis could open his mouth. “It’s Louis’ treat to everybody since Gemma asked him.” Louis smiles at that, and nods. “The man said it.” He says.

“Plus, he has a lot of money and this is like, nothing. He could buy the hotel if he wanted.” Harry continued with a smirk. Louis narrows his eyes and Gemma shoots daggers from her eyes. Perrie seemed kind of surprised, and Nakshathra was just staring at Louis. Zayn on the other hand tried to hold back a smile as he looked at Harry.

Perrie pulls Harry to a side when everybody starts checking out the rooms, starting with Gemma and Louis’.

“Yeah?” Harry asks when her grip is tight on his arm.

“I’m sorry it had to be like this. But Naksh is a good friend and I want her to have fun too, she really likes beaches and water, swimming and just name it. I already told Zayn that I’d be spending most of the time with her so that she wouldn’t feel lonely here without Liam. You’ll be fine with Zayn brooding by your side, yeah?”

Harry chuckles at that. “Yeah, I understand. I’ll try to be fine with Zayn brooding.”

Perrie laughed heartedly at that before going back to Zayn who was in a deep conversation with Louis about something that included the pictures on the hotel room. Gemma hands Harry the key card to his hotel room and smiles. “Yours and Zayn’s. Have fun, loser.” Harry scoffs but takes it anyways. Zayn’s behind him, and their room is 708.

The other rooms were 701 and 702. Gemma had no idea how Louis accidentally booked 708 instead of 703, but it was fine. The view from the hotel rooms were nice, the sea could be seen outstretched and the people too. The balcony was wide, there were walls on either side so you couldn’t see other people’s balconies.

The room—the room currently ‘the couples special’ that Gemma said Louis booked before realizing Harry and Nakshathra weren’t a couple, and then Gemma tried to make it seem better by telling everybody there was a discount on these rooms. The beds decorated with bloody flowers and expensive candles on the nightstand.

The bathroom was fucking beautiful. That’s the first thing that came into Harry’s mind when he walked in. There was a bathtub there, he had never used one. Zayn was right by his side, grinning like an idiot. “Harry, that’s Jacuzzi right there. I’m going to stay in there forever.”

Harry looks down at it before frowning. “Who cares if it’s Jacuzzi? It’s a bathtub. I’m going to stay in there forever.”

“Maybe we can stay in there together.” Zayn whispers.

Harry chuckles nervously at that. Tries not to think too much about Zayn’s hand on his hip when he whispers down to his shoulder, and then walks away like nothing had happened.

Gemma wants to hit the beach right away, so does everybody else. Zayn complains about not getting enough sleep and decides to doze off. Perrie doesn’t mind that, laughs and tells everybody that’s how it is for him. They hit the beach and it’s sunny out there.

Nakshathra is laughing at something that Perrie said, Gemma’s swimming away from Louis who might get a panic attack and Harry’s staring at the sea with a smile. There’s a couple of girls on the side staring at him, but he’s looking back and he could see Zayn at the balcony. He was looking right at him with a smile on his face.

Harry smiles back like a madman before rushing into the water and accidentally hitting Louis with his hand. They kind of get into a fight there which ends up with Gemma smothering Harry’s face with kisses telling him that little brothers don’t do naughty things. Louis laughs so loud at that; he receives another blow from Harry.

Everything breaks out quickly. Louis is walking around the beach with Gemma, Perrie and Nakshathra sneak off to get some treats from the stalls near the beach. Harry on the other hand tells them that he’ll be off now, saying that he’ll see them at lunch. Gemma sticks her tongue out at him when he walks back and calls him a loser.

He’s so used to that; he doesn’t even care if she changes his name to loser forever. When he gets into his room with the key card that Zayn had trusted him with, he’s met with Zayn sleeping soundly on the bed. Harry watches him for a minute before deciding to take a bath.

And it indeed was one of the best. The warm water filled the tub and his body was on fire for a moment, but the sea was so cold, it was nice to be warm again. He lies there for a moment, letting the water soak his skin. Then the door opens widely and Zayn’s walking in with sleepy eyes.

“What the fuck.” He says when he notices Harry in the tub.

“I guess I forgot to lock the door.” Harry says with a grin. Zayn’s staring at him before rolling his eyes and walking towards him, poking his finger into the water. “Is it nice?” Zayn asks.

“Yeah. It feels great.” Harry replies with a grin. Zayn’s hand grips his hair all of the sudden, pulling it back and making him groan loudly. “Shit, you really might have some kind of a kink there.” Zayn says with a laugh before letting go of him. Harry blushes at that.

Zayn washes his face after that. Harry watches him awkwardly when he stares at himself in the mirror for a long time. “You must really like your face.” Harry mutters. “It’s a great face, I’d add.”

He starts to rethink his joke when Zayn doesn’t reply to that. “Ah well, I wasn’t admiring my face. Just thinking. Enjoy your bath.” The older man says before walking out of the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. Harry doesn’t mind.

Everything’s a blur after that. They’re having lunch in the Palm Court Restaurant. Harry’s not hungry, but he couldn’t fuss about the food. Perrie tried to feed Zayn who scoffed and told her he wasn’t a kid. She frowned at that before sticking her tongue out at him and feeding Nakshathra who took the food happily. Harry watches that, tries to keep that in mind before going back to his food.

“Harry bought his camera.” Gemma says. “He takes great pictures. We could have a photoshoot kind of thing.”

“That’s nice, yeah?” Perrie replies with a smile, looking over at Zayn who seemed interested for a change. “Yeah. Didn’t know that you had a thing for photography. But not today.”

“Uh, Mom got me a camera for my sixteen birthday so I take pictures on various occasions. Became a hobby.” Harry mutters. Nakshathra asks him about his camera, and he was more than happy to tell her about the things that he went through while buying a new lens. Louis is telling Zayn about the bar in the hotel and the art gallery he went to with his father on a trip.

After lunch, Perrie and Zayn decide to stay back for a bit. Harry’s quick to get back in his room, tells Gemma that he’s not up for whatever they’re going to be doing in the evening. Louis scoffs at that, telling him to enjoy life a bit and Harry almost slaps him.

He stares out of the balcony because he can see Zayn and Perrie from there. They’re walking, and talking. Calmly. They’re not holding hands, Zayn isn’t smiling sweetly at her and she’s not kissing him. Then he sees Zayn look up for a moment, right at him, before turning back to Perrie and laughing at something.

Harry takes a deep breath before taking off his shoes and going to bed. All he needed was a good nap.

When Harry was in Liverpool, he didn’t have one friend that he’d do everything with. He talked to some people, ate lunch with the ones who didn’t mind him at the table, and hang out with the ones who didn’t mind his company. He didn’t have a ‘best friend’ and it was because he didn’t believe in the concept of ‘best friend’.

He was happy to be out of there. He’d be in Liverpool from the day he was born. Lived in the same house till the age of 18. Had his 19th birthday with Anna and Ian in Ealing, didn’t pick up when his father tried to call him. ‘Jesus, weird green eyed boy is moving.’ Was the first thing Jesse had said when he walked into Harry’s open house without a hello. Anne almost hit him with her frying pan, but Harry managed to tell them he was no danger.

Jesse’s a blond with blue eyes. He’s freakishly tall and likes to make people laugh. Harry’s always liked to hang out with him, did develop a tiny crush which lasted only for a month before he realized Jesse was too good of a friend. He’d greet Harry every day and ask him about the recent football news. Sometimes they’d skip classes and hang out, but Jesse had other important friends too.

Harry was always someone to be with when your real friends are busy.

‘Jesus, Harry. Looking at you makes me sad. Go and get some cock before I offer you mine.’ Jesse had told him once. He groaned at that, but did take that into consideration. Harry wasn’t openly gay, but somehow people got it. He wasn’t bullied for that; he wasn’t ignored for that. Now that he thinks about it, it all seems easy.

He could have had so many friends; people would still be calling him. Maybe some of them are in UCL and Harry doesn’t even know. Maybe if he tried to talk a little too much, tried to ask them about their sisters and their favourite food, he might have had good friends.

“Harry? Are you awake?” He can hear Zayn’s voice. He’s near the door, Harry closes his eyes and pretends to sleep. He was facing the other side, couldn’t be bothered to talk to Zayn after remembering about his shit life in Liverpool.

He can hear Zayn walking around the room when the door closes. Then Zayn’s on the bed too, he’s getting closer to Harry and the younger boy is trying not to squirm under the sheets when he feels Zayn’s hand on his hair. Then there’s a contact, Zayn’s lips pressed against his forehead for a moment before he pulls back and gets under the sheets too. There’s a safe distance between them.

Harry moves a little because his arm is starting to hurt from all the body pressure. He turns to Zayn’s side without opening his eyes.

Then he feels it.

_‘Harry, what’s love to you?’ Jackson had asked him when they finally got into their treehouse in Harry’s backyard. ‘Love?’ Nine-year-old Harry muttered with a small smile on his face._

_‘Yes, love.’ Jackson replied with a smile as he gets seated on the wooden floor and looks at the small masterpiece created by him and Harry. (In which his dad, sister and mother might have helped)_

_‘Love is when you…um, get a girlfriend? And that’s what you feel when you look at her?’_

_‘You’re not sure yourself.’ Jackson had said. ‘I’ll tell you what love is. Love is when you’re in the arms of someone who cares about you, you can feel it. Their heartbeat, you can feel it. You can tell a lot from the way a person holds you, it’s the body that blurts out the truth which the mouth doesn’t.’_

_‘That’s what love means?’_

_‘One of the many reasons. I believe in two only, by the way.’ Jackson replied with a smile. ‘And this one is probably the second one.’_

_‘What’s the first one?’ Harry asked curiously._

_‘I’ll tell you later. Can we discuss about the dangers about to overcome our kingdom now?’ Jackson said with a scoff before grabbing his paper crown and throwing a plastic sword to Harry._

Zayn’s arm is around him, pulling him close and nuzzling his face in Harry’s hair. He wants to cry, maybe yell and push Zayn off the bed calling him a pervert. Jackson had never made much sense to him, but right here in Zayn’s arms he can feel it for the first time. The feeling of being loved—or maybe not, but he felt loved and it was all that mattered.

He should have known.

Harry feels the air kicked out of his body when he wakes up with a gasp. Louis is basically sat on his stomach, pulling his cheeks. “Hello princess, time to wake up. You’ve been asleep for hours and your sister was wondering if you died or something.” He’s saying when Harry opens his eyes and glares at him. “Get the fuck off me.” Harry mutters. “You’re heavy.”

“Jeez, fine.” Louis gets off of him and walks towards the closed door. “We’re having rice for dinner!” Louis announced before leaving the room. Harry sits up on his bed for a minute, checks the time on his watch and groans for another minute.

It’s great. Zayn’s talking to Gemma, Nakshathra and Perrie talk about the wedding and Louis stares at Harry who’s been looking at Zayn the whole time. He knows it, but everybody else is busy with their own thing so he didn’t mind creeping at him in public. “Hey, coming for a drink?” Louis asks him when they’re leaving for their rooms after a good dinner.

“Uh, sure.” Harry replies with a smile. He glances over to Zayn who’s whispering something to Perrie with a smile on his face. She’s laughing too. “Could use a drink. If you’re paying.” Harry added. Louis scoffed, but nodded along.

The hotel has a free bar and that’s nice. There are quite few people in there, the two of them are at a corner and Harry drinks his beer like a madman. “Mate, you need to chill. That’s like, your second bottle.” Louis’ saying with a laugh but Harry doesn’t listen to him. “Shush. I’m thinking.”

Louis rolls his eyes and orders something that isn’t familiar to Harry’s ears. He realizes that he’s never hung out with Louis like this before. Gemma would always be there. Gemma wasn’t here right now and he remembers that he didn’t want to be alone with Louis because the feelings come back to him. But right now, he wasn’t thinking about his one-sided puppy love with Louis. All he could think was _Zayn, Zayn_ and _Zayn_.

“What’s going on, Harry?” Louis asks.

“Shut up, I can drink as much as I want.”

“No—you know what I’m asking. What’s going on between you and Zayn?”

Harry doesn’t move for a minute. Then he starts laughing. “Oh come on, you really like to imagine these things. Don’t you?”

“Harry… I have eyes, you know. I just want you to tell me what’s going on, yeah? I’m not here to lecture you on fucking principles of life.”

“I like him. I sucked his cock.” Harry blurts out. “And I regret nothing.”

Louis doesn’t say anything for a moment. “Um, I was thinking it was an unrequited thing…”

“Oh.” Harry whispers before chuckling. “ _Oh_. You think everybody’s like you? Ah well, he did notice me. Thankfully. And it’s nothing, he’s still with Perrie. It’s just fun.”

Louis tried to ignore the insult there. “Fun. Of course. But be careful, yeah?”

Harry couldn’t think of a witty reply as the alcohol takes him over. “Yeah.” He manages to reply.

“I think I’ll go for a walk.” Perrie says with a smile, grabbing her purse and heading towards the door. Nakshathra frowns at that. “At this hour? Why?”

She stops and turns around to face Liam’s fiancée. “The lights outside are bloody amazing, Naksh. And, there’s this function going on. Some party, I think that’s why there are so many pretty lights put up. I need to take some pictures.”

“Okay.” Nakshathra replies with a smile. “Taking Zayn with you?”

“No, he’ll be tired. Let him sleep.” Perrie says with a laugh before walking out. She sees Louis supporting a very drunk Harry and groaning his way towards Zayn’s room. “Oh my, Harry. Are you okay?” Perrie asks with a small laugh.

Harry looks up at her and manages to chuckle. “Yeah. Where are you off to?”

“Just a stroll. Don’t mind me.”

Louis nods at that, then continues to help Harry walk to his room. Perrie walks out, her eyes set on her phone as she goes through the photos Doniya had sent her from her trip in Sicily. Perrie always liked Zayn’s older sister. She was a makeup artist, blogger, fashion enthusiast and businesswoman. Zayn admires her a lot, and Perrie loved her too.

‘You should visit Italy too! So beautiful.’ Doniya had written with the photograph.

Perrie can’t remember how many times she asked Zayn if they could go for a holiday out of the country. New York, she always wanted to visit the state. She loved Italy, she made Doniya promise to bring something from there for her. She always wanted to visit Australia when her childhood best friend told her food is great, accent is amazing and the scenery is pretty.

So many places. It wasn’t like they didn’t have the money. Perrie worked at such a popular place, they had over 300 people for each session and she worked as one of the most popular trainers there. Zayn on the other hand earned a fine amount from working at a privately sanctioned comprehensive school. And they could go somewhere for a week and survive.

But Zayn wouldn’t have that. There would always be one thing or the other. ‘Why Spain? I heard the hotels became expensive this year.’ Or, ‘Can’t babe. Too tired from all the work. Need to concentrate a bit. Maybe we can go visit Katherine in Cardiff?’

Perrie never did mind. She did get Zayn. She knew him well.

They’ve been best friends since the first year in college. Art major Zayn Malik brooding in his dorm room with his hardworking roommate Liam Payne who was majoring in Business. Then there was Perrie doing Media studies as well as trying to get her bachelor’s degree in health and fitness.

Zayn met her through Liam. They didn’t experience love in first sight because she had a boyfriend and he had a girlfriend then. Her boyfriend left her for another woman, and the week after Zayn’s girlfriend left him for another girl. They had a laugh at that, but they didn’t hook up. It had happened at a party when Zayn was drunk and she tried to get high.

It happened so quickly, the morning when she woke up naked beside him she began to cry. Zayn was so scared then that he tried to pretend it was alright and took her for dates. But then she was so nice, and Liam tried to explain how he’ll be the best with her… it happened. They started dating. But Perrie knew Zayn, she knew what she had gotten herself into.

They had eventual breaks. They had plenty of fights and Zayn fucked other people in that time. Perrie on the other hand just cried with the other girls in her sorority.

Liam was the one who knocked some sense into his brain after Gigi happened and he was caught by Perrie. He promised to treat her right and she just forgave him. They graduated together, bought a house after working for a year and lived there peacefully for a year with their terrible neighbours until Harry Styles shifted next door.

Perrie always had faith in Zayn. She knew that no matter how much he fucked up, in the end he’d come back to her and they’ll sort it out. It was hard, it made her want to cry so much and yell at him all the time for being so locked up but that’s who he was. She had learned to accept it by now.

She’s walking through the stones, looking up at the lighting and the small stage set up at the side. Some guy was giving a speech and the two girls on the other side of the stage were just giggling happily. “Excuse me?” Somebody broke her bubble of thoughts when she was staring at the happy gathering. She turned around to see a man looking at her curiously with a smile. “Hello. Are you alone here?” He asks her with a friend grin. He was tall. She had to look up at him. Blond, blue eyes and enchanting smile. She just stared for a moment before grinning back.

“Oh, right now I am. May I ask why?”

The man laughs at that. “My college friends are having this awful engagement party here and um, there’s this dance. I was alone and I thought maybe you could dance with me?”

Perrie is shunned.

“Just a dance. Right?” She asks with a smile. “I might be taken.”

“Oh my, I wouldn’t let somebody this pretty roam around the beach all alone wearing something like that.” The man checks her out with a grin. She rolls her eyes at that. “Well sir, you are lucky that I am agreeing one dance with you.”

“Really?” His cocky tone disappears and he sounds genuinely happy. Perrie couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yes. But I hope it’ll be over soon because I need to get back to my room.”

“It’ll be over in a heartbeat.” The man says with a laugh before taking her hand by surprise and guiding her into the crowd who seemed tired of hearing the man’s speech. The girls were still laughing on the side, maybe they were the engaged duo. Perrie studied them carefully when she sat down beside mysterious blond and finally let go of his hand.

“What!” Gemma’s fuming. “Harry is rebelling?! He’s like—six!”

“Gemma. Come on, I’m sure it’s nothing. Zayn and Perrie are completely in love and Harry’s just… let him do what he’s doing. They’ll know when to stop.” Louis mutters. He’s sat on a chair in the balcony, staring into the sea while smoking. He would oppose his own decision but Harry seemed so broken while talking about Zayn, whispering his name when he was completely drunk and telling Louis how much he loves Zayn. He’s not sure if sober Harry would admit to that.

“Perrie’s nice. I don’t think Zayn’s doing fair work here. Harry’s going to be in love with Zayn in a heartbeat, Lou.” Gemma’s arguing as she walks into the balcony and sits down beside him. She steals the cigarette and takes it in before handing it back to Louis. “The hell is going down there?” Gemma asks. There’s a clear view of the party going down from their room. There’s people dancing and Louis wants to scoff at that.

“Look at that man, his hair looks so fake. It’s like a bird’s nest.” Louis says with a laugh. Gemma notices that and laughs heartedly. But her smile soon disappears. She grips Louis’ arm and gasps. “Look at that, the freakishly tall bloke there.”

“We are not talking about the guys who you think you can sleep with, Gem.”

“No—look at him. Look.”

Louis is looking now. “Oh.” He says. “That’s Perrie dancing with him. Smiling like she hasn’t smiled with Zayn. That’s nice.”

“You better not be cheating on me, Lou.”

“Gem. You’re too careful, you don’t trust me with Grandmas. And Grandpas.”

“That’s right.” Gem replied with a smile. They watched Perrie dance with the man happily, like nothing else mattered in the whole world. She hoped Zayn wasn’t watching this.

Zayn’s staring at the ceiling. Harry’s asleep beside him, and he’s curled into his side. He reeks of alcohol and it makes Zayn lose his mind. He’s been trying to sleep too, but Harry smells so strong, he can’t take it anymore.

“Harry.” He says. Harry groans in his sleep.

Zayn gets up and walks over to Harry’s side. He takes off the blanket covering Harry and takes a deep breath before unbuttoning his shirt. The younger male was in deep slumber, didn’t bother to open his eyes when his shirt was off. Zayn’s pulling Harry’s super tight jeans off when he finally opens his eyes and yelps.

“What are you doing, creep?”

Zayn’s rolls his eyes and completely takes off his jeans from his legs. “You’re drunk and you smell as if you bathed in beer. You need a bath.”

“Oh.” Harry says. “Fine.”

But he makes no movement of getting up. Zayn takes a deep breath before lifting him up and taking up in his arms. When he makes his way towards the bathroom, Harry’s eyes are wide open. He can see Zayn huffing and groaning. “You’re such a baby.” Zayn muttered but he was smiling too. He placed Harry back on the floor and looked at him.

“You know,” Harry starts. “I always thought you couldn’t lift Perrie up. But damn, you lifted me. You can definitely lift her then.”

Zayn rolls his eyes again. “Stop doing that.” Harry folds his arms in front of his chest and stares at the bathtub. “You’re supposed to get in there.” Zayn says.

“I don’t feel like it.”

“Oh my God.” Zayn’s saying, but then he closes the bathroom door and takes off his own shirt. Harry takes a step back, suddenly feeling awkward and scared. Maybe he was the one seducing Zayn but he didn’t think he was ready to actually do it with Zayn. The one time he gave Zayn a blowjob, he couldn’t sleep that night wondering what had he done.

But Zayn’s not stopping. He takes off every single clothing off his body, and walks towards the bathtub to fill in the water. Harry’s staring at him with wide eyes, not believing he had actually seen all of Zayn before. “Hey.” Harry suddenly says. “You have loads of tattoos.”

“Yeah.” Zayn replies when the water is filling. “So do you.”

Harry hums in response. He hadn’t seen Zayn shirtless before.

When the water is filled, Zayn’s quick to get in. He hums at the feeling of warm water hit his body. “Get rid of your briefs and get in. You still smell like a beer shop.” He says.

“Okay but…” Harry’s gaze shifts down and he looks at the water. The bubbles are filling up and he can’t see anything past Zayn’s chest. He did wonder what bubble bath was that. “Don’t look.” Harry finishes.

Zayn chuckles at that. “You get to see me and I don’t get to see you? That’s not very fair, Harry.”

Harry blushes at that. “Please.”

“Fine.” Zayn mutters. Then he closes his eyes and looks up. “Fast. I open my eyes in ten seconds.”

Harry’s getting out of his briefs so fast. When Zayn’s at ‘2’, he basically jumps into the water. Zayn startles at that, but then he’s laughing. “Um, I don’t know why you’re this insecure.” Zayn’s saying when Harry’s finally settled into the water. The bathtub is a little small, and he can feel Zayn’s legs around his own.

“Whatever.” Harry mutters. His head hurts a bit, but he’s aware of what’s happening. Zayn looks at him for a moment before he’s leaning forward. Harry flinches at that, but Zayn’s sat on his thighs then, and wraps his right hand around Harry.

“Oh.” Zayn whispers. “I really don’t know why you’re insecure, Harry. That feels kind of massive.”

Harry smirks at that. “Maybe I thought you weren’t worthy of it.”

“Is that right?” Zayn asks with a grin. Then he starts moving his hand, jerking Harry slowly. The younger boy whimpers, but his groans are trapped when Zayn’s lips are pressed against his. Harry tastes like beer, but it’s fine. Zayn likes beer. He kisses Harry hard and fast, all teeth and tongue. His pace is getting faster and Harry’s coming undone underneath him with a gasp.

His own hands are around Zayn’s waist, pressing hard as he closes his eyes and throws his head back. “I can’t…” He whispers. “Hold on. Don’t come just now.” Zayn tells him. He nods slowly, his head is still thrown back and he’s taking deep breaths. Zayn kisses his jawline and his neck before sucking a bite below his jawline. Harry gasps at that, the water splashing as his hands are around the edge of the tub.

Zayn’s hand isn’t stopping either, Harry’s tired and his eyes are watery. He can’t hold it any longer.

“Zayn.”

The older man looks at him. His face is red, his eyes are water and his mouth is open. He notices that Harry’s lips are a light pink shade, a shade that Perrie always complains about since it’s her natural lip colour. Zayn doesn’t know what’s the big deal but Harry looks so beautiful, he kisses him again but Harry can’t hold it any longer.

He comes in the tub.

“Thanks for that.” Zayn says. “We’ll have to take a bath again.”

“Why?!”

“What do you mean why? You came. And…no.” Zayn mutters. “I’ve lived with clean freaks all my life and I’m kind of one too. So, you have to take one bath too.” Then he gets off of Harry and shifts to another side.

Harry’s breathing heavily, still on his high with a smile on his face. “Still don’t think I deserve it?” Zayn asks.

“I’ll think about it.”

Zayn laughs at that.

They end up taking another bath which included endless makeout sessions. Then they cuddled in bed and Zayn kissed Harry’s forehead slowly, whispering a faint ‘goodnight babe’ when he thought Harry was asleep.

In the back of Harry’s mind, he can hear Jackson’s words on love. He wants to ignore it but he can’t with Zayn acting like this.

The next morning, Harry’s up early. He promised a photo session and that’s what he’ll do. He’s always serious when it comes to his photos and people asking him for it. He knows that he should do his best, capture the best moments and tell them to be themselves. Follow them quietly and take lovely pictures.

It was like he was back. When he was almost seventeen trying to get over his sister dating his first crush ever, he had to take pictures of Louis and Gemma. It hurt like shit but he got used to it after Gemma wanted him to take their pictures all the time. He was over Louis by then.

But he was back on square one. Perrie and Zayn were holding hands. Perrie asking Harry how she should pose and telling Zayn to stop brooding for once. He was expecting Zayn to be all cool for this but he seemed too tired to be excited about this. He groaned when Perrie asked him to hold her, frowned and asked for a break when Perrie said they should take pictures on the Pier too.

“I know.” Gemma’s saying when Harry’s checking the pictures he took of Zayn and Perrie. They were fine. Not his best because Zayn looked dead in most of them. “What?” Harry asks her with a frown.

“Louis told me.”

“Of course he did.” Harry replies with a smile. “Come on. Call me a loser again. Tell me I couldn’t have gone any cheaper.”

“Harry. I’d never say that… I love you. Yeah? I get it.” Gemma’s talking in a way that she rarely does with him. “Just… grab something to eat. I’ll have your camera.”

Perrie and Nakshathra were discussing about the jewellery that they had spotted at the Pier. Harry saw Zayn glancing at the Churro stand, and he handed his precious camera to Gemma before heading towards the man.

“Sorry.” Zayn says when Harry approaches him. “I’ll be better after I eat. It’s early and I’m always grumpy at this hour.”

Harry couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yeah. Come on, I’m kind of hungry too.”

Zayn doesn’t scoff when Harry begs extra chocolate dip, doesn’t laugh when he starts choking while trying to eat two pieces at once. “You’re really hungry.” Zayn says with a smile. They’re sat on one of the small white benches beside the stand and people are rushing with their plates. Harry nods at that, holds out one piece to Zayn.

“Open up, sunshine.” He says with a grin. Zayn laughs at that, but does open his mouth and lets Harry feed him the fried snack. “Chocolate dip makes everything so much better.” Harry’s gushing about the churros happily and Zayn’s just watching him with a smile on his face.

When they’re done with their little snack break, they find the rest of the guys. They’re at the concession stands, Nakshathra and Perrie were just browsing through the rings and Zayn almost had a heart attack when Perrie asked him if the ring looked pretty on her.

Louis was the one taking pictures right now. Harry didn’t mind that. “We’re going to the carousel; can you take our pictures?” Nakshathra asks him. He nods at that. “Sure thing. Gemma loves carousels, she won’t admit it though.”

“I don’t.”

“Liar. Go now. Take your little brother too.” Louis says with a grin.

Harry’s looking at Zayn’s phone. It’s a picture of Zayn with his family and he’s telling Harry everything about them. He’s all smiles, so Harry couldn’t help but smile too when he says his mom is the best cook in the whole world and his dad is the funniest guy he has ever came across.

“Hey, we’re raiding the carousel. You should come.” Gem interrupts their talk. Zayn blinks a couple of times before chuckling. “Ah, you go. I don’t really like any rides.”

“Bullshit. We’re coming.” Harry replies. Gemma just smiles widely at him before skipping off where Perrie and Nakshathra were heading. Harry grabs Zayn’s hand and drags him towards the carousel.

“I don’t sit on rides, Harry. Especially children’s rides.” Zayn says, trying to take his hand back but Harry just wouldn’t let go.

“Shut up, Zayn. We’re all going and adults do sit on these rides. Mind you.”

Harry manages to make Zayn sit on a horse and he sits on one beside Zayn’s. Perrie’s looking at Zayn. She’s surprised, but she’s laughing too. “Harry, what super powers do you have? You got Zayn to finally sit on a ride.”

“Just yelled at him till he agreed, I guess.” Harry replies with a smile. Nakshathra is chuckling too. Zayn wants to die right there.

The ride starts, and Zayn’s frown sits on his face. Louis is laughing and taking pictures. Harry looks at Zayn and calls out to him silently. Zayn turns to look at him, the frown disappearing.

“Zayn.”

“What?”

“I love you.”

Zayn’s eyes are wide. Harry could be joking, but he’s not smiling or laughing. He’s just looking at Zayn for an answer. “Zayn, chill. I was just kidding, mate. Look at your face!” Harry later adds with a smirk. Zayn rolls his eyes at that, but he’s starts laughing along with Harry.

When they get off the ride, Perrie asks Zayn if he needs to puke. Zayn scoffs at her, then starts brooding again.

Louis hands the camera back to Harry and tells him to check the photos later. “If you’ve spammed it with Gemma’s pictures, I’m killing you.” Harry warns him. Louis chuckles at that. “Oh, no. There’s loads of Gemma but there are other people too. Can’t forget you, Styles.”

“Good.” Harry mutters. It’s lunch time, Perrie’s arm is tangled with Zayn’s and they’re walking to the restaurant in front of everybody. Nakshathra is warning Harry about the upcoming professors in the third term, and he’s dying.

Harry’s always the first to finish in their table. He decides to not look at Perrie who’s demanding to be fed by Zayn who tells her he’s tired, but he figures out that Zayn would start being lovely with her soon enough. He takes his camera and decides to check the photos taken by Louis.

There’s pictures of Gemma beside a little girl, she’s making faces and the girl is laughing. It’s a great picture, Anne would love it. Harry’s smiling until he sees a picture of him and Zayn laughing. His heart sinks as he remembers telling Zayn he was kidding about the three words. He might be, he might be not. He doesn’t know himself, but at least he got Zayn to laugh.

Then there’s pictures of Perrie and Nakshathra checking out the rings, Gemma laughing at something and then there’s pictures of him feeding Zayn. He blushes at that. Zayn’s mouth is open and Harry’s feeding him a chocolate dipped Churro with a huge smile on his face. Then there’s more of them together on the bench. Harry didn’t know that Gemma and Louis were watching them.

If Zayn knew that, he’d probably not let Harry do that.

“Hey, how did the pictures turn out?” Perrie asks. Harry looks up from his camera and smiles. “Good. I’ll send them to you when we get back. Yeah?”

“I hope Zayn’s smiling in at least one of them.” Perrie mutters. Zayn looks hurt, but he doesn’t say anything. Louis is smirking at Harry, Harry smiles back just because he’s made Mr. Malik smile the whole day and maybe broke his own heart by saying those words unexpectedly.

Things go downhill from there.

Turns out Zayn was really hurt when Perrie said that. They had an argument after lunch at the beach, Louis tried to pretend it was alright but he seemed worried. Nakshathra told them that Zayn and Perrie barely fought so it was kind of a new thing for her.

Perrie tried to play it cool with the rest, saying that she was going to get some rest in her room and wasn’t planning on doing anything special this evening unless they wanted to go somewhere specific. Zayn’s excuse is the same, but he asks Harry to come along with him.

Louis, Gemma and Nakshathra decide to stay out. Harry’s walking with Zayn to their room and there’s an awkward silence between them. Perrie asks Harry about his university exams, and he tells her that he’s barely surviving. She laughs and tells him he’s too intelligent to fail, and wishes him luck. She doesn’t talk or even look at Zayn.

Zayn sits down on the bed and takes off his shoes. “Sit beside me?” He looks up at Harry.

“Yeah.” Harry replies. He takes off his shoes too, and manages to sit beside Zayn on the comfy bed.

“Perrie and I started dating when we were in our second year.” Zayn says. “It was nice. You know? She was nice. I wasn’t even planning on dating her, but she was my closest friend beside Liam. And Liam was the one who suggested that I took her out for a date after you know… sleeping with her. She was nice, so we eventually started dating.”

Harry doesn’t say anything. He just nods his head, telling Zayn to continue.

“And it was fine in the first year of dating. Third year of university, I was tired. We started fighting on little things, and she would ask for some days off. Like, a break. I would go out… have fun then. I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to have fun while she was grieving. I didn’t even know that she used to cry for me.”

“I became too brave then. Slept with a guy, we had a mutual ‘just one night, mate’ kind of thing. He was nice, and Perrie never found out. I did feel bad but I was fine. But I tried my luck too far and there was this girl… her name was Jelena and she always had a thing for me. I was so high then, I just let her into my dorm then. Liam was right there and he just looked so surprised, but he walked out. He let me do it.”

“Then I asked Jelena if she could keep this secret, she called me an idiot and just walked away. Perrie knew about it the next day. Turns out they were in the same sorority. Jelena got kicked out then, Perrie cried some more and I felt like shit. Perrie broke it off with me during the end of the third year. Jelena was leaving university and she came around that night to say goodbye. I… I did it again with her. I didn’t care. Perrie had left me, but then she came around to say sorry so unexpectedly and I actually felt bad when she broke down on the floor when she saw me with Jelena.”

“But we still worked out. Jelena left the university and we continued the last year. The last year was peaceful, nothing bad happened. We were fine.”

“Jelena…” Harry muttered the name.

“That’s—that’s the model.” Zayn says with a small smile. “Gigi Hadid.”

Harry’s eyes widened at that before he laughed. “Fuck, you had a thing with Gigi Hadid? My mom adores that girl.”

“I guess. We had a lot in common unlike Perrie and I.” Zayn continues. “But she was… I don’t know. I kind of liked her too. But she didn’t like me enough to date me. Said I was kind of a dick to be cheating on Perrie but she still agreed to have sex with me. Her haughty American accent haunted me.”

“Oh yeah.” Harry says. “Still. Gigi Hadid.”

“Amazing how far she made it.”

“Yeah. What would you do if you met her again?” Harry asks. Zayn smiles at that. “I don’t know. Ignore her, probably. She’s a part of my life that I wanted to forget. I did learn, yeah? Until…”

“Until I came around and fucked your life up again.”

“No, it’s not you. I just—I don’t know. I don’t know where I’m going with my relationship with Perrie. My parents want me to marry her. Very soon.”

“Marry?”

“Yes.” Zayn replies. “You know… be mine forever and shit like that. But I don’t know, Harry. It’s not like Liam and Nakshathra. Liam was so sure about it, he wanted to marry her from the moment they met or something like that. Or that’s what I think. But it’s not like that with me and Perrie.”

“You want to break up with her?”

Zayn freezes at that. Perrie Edwards who stayed by his side when he fucked everything up. Perrie Edwards who’d always forgive him even if he threw her into a volcano. He wasn’t sure if he’d fine somebody who’d keep up with him like that. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

Harry nods slowly at that. They sit in silence.

Zayn and Harry have dinner in the Hotel’s restaurant. It’s nice and they wonder why they didn’t have it before. Perrie does go out with Nakshathra, Gemma and Louis for dinner.

They talk about a lot of things. Why Zayn became a teacher and why Harry doesn’t like oranges. “You never had a girlfriend or boyfriend?” Zayn asks with a frown. Harry shook his head disappointedly. “I had crushes. Was too much of an introvert in college. Even if somebody showed their interest in me, I’d turn my head around and ignore them. Just liked Louis, I suppose.”

“You liked Louis?”

Harry groans at that. Then he tells Zayn about how he met Louis and how Louis completely ignored his feelings. “He did apologize later. Told me he was a twat for ignoring all of that. But it was too late, I didn’t give a shit about him. Or anyone.”

“But you seem fine with Louis right now.”

Harry smiles softly. “Yeah. He’s been dating Gem for a while now, he really loves her and… I have plenty of other distractions. One being you.”

Zayn laughs at that. “Good for Louis.”

Harry scoffs. “Whatever.”

“Coming to the beach?” Zayn asks when they finish their meal. Harry nods and lets Zayn take his hand, guiding him outside. The beach is lit up dimly, there are lights outside from the party yesterday. They walk over the stones hand in hand because there’s nobody watching them and because Zayn isn’t pulling away.

Gemma and Louis might see them from their hotel balcony. But they knew, so Harry didn’t mind warning Zayn about it.

“Your hand.”

“What?”

“No. Your hand, it’s just. Bigger than mine.” Zayn says. “Never held a hand bigger than mine. Just a little different, yeah?”

“Oh.” Harry doesn’t know what Zayn’s implying. Zayn’s looking around carefully before letting go. Harry wants to ask him if someone was looking, but then Zayn grabs his wrist and pulls him closer to kiss him.

The only sound that Harry could hear was coming from the sea. Zayn’s kissing him in public, hands on his face, licking into him like he always does. Harry’s arms wrap around Zayn’s waist, pulling him closer and smiling into the kiss. Zayn’s a little shorter than him, only by an inch though.

_“So, what’s the other one?”_

_“What?” Jackson asks with a frown._

_“There are two meanings of love. You told me when we were playing in the treehouse.” Fourteen-year-old Harry says. “Oh. Right. You still remember that? You’re incredible.” Jackson replies with a laugh. They were walking home after school, still not talking about college like every other of their classmates were._

_“Love is when you continue a friendship, or whatever relationship that you have with the one that you like when they actually like somebody else. Knowing that they’ll choose the other one, you continue to be for them. Let them have you when they want, let them use you. Love is when you fall for someone who can never be yours.”_

_“But sometimes you do fall for someone that can be yours.” Harry replies. “Like Angie. She’s pretty and she likes me. Maybe we’ll go out.”_

_“Oh.” Jackson mutters before laughing. “No, you know it. Love is when you cry for the other person who continues to fuck up. Love is when you know your relationship won’t go anywhere—love is when you love someone so much that you can’t even tell them. Because you want them to be happy and want them to be happy with someone that they like. You always keep their preference above yours.”_

_“Jack, are you okay?”_

_“Yeah.” Jackson says. “You should ask Angie out.”_

_Harry grins at that. They next day Jackson shifted to Canada. Everybody except Harry knew that. He cried a lot. Didn’t talk to anybody, tried calling Jack a million times. But Jack didn’t pick up. Jack didn’t even say goodbye. That night he finds Jack’s notebook, the one that he always doodled in and a note inside that said:_

_‘I love you, Harry Styles. Goodbye.’_

_In his book were his answers. ‘What is love?’ The one he had told Harry when they were nine and the other one when they were fourteen. Harry liked Jack too, but it was never more than a friendship. Knowing that Jack wrote why he loved him in his book made him want to cry. But Jack was gone, living somewhere with his family in Canada wondering if Harry asked Angie out._

_He didn’t. He stayed all by himself from then. Too afraid of falling in love and being with someone who wouldn’t love him back. He didn’t want to feel what Jack felt._

Zayn wouldn’t choose him. Harry doesn’t think they have much in common. Harry doesn’t know Zayn like Perrie does. Harry was just some guy who shifted here two months ago.

But Harry can’t think straight when Zayn kisses him like that. He was here for fun. He was with Zayn for fun. He needed to stick to the words Jesse had told him, not Jack. Zayn pulls away to catch his breath and chuckles. “You’re huge, but still a cuddle bear. How is that possible?”

“That’s what you ask after kissing the life out of me?”

“Yes.”

Zayn’s still holding him, and his arms are still around Zayn’s waist. “Maybe I’ll let you join me in the bath again.” He says. Zayn smirks at that. “Maybe?”

“Only if you let me give you another blowjob.”

“Fuck—you don’t have to ask.” Zayn barely manages to say before kissing him again.

Gemma is definitely watching. Harry can catch somebody stood at the balcony, definitely Gemma and Louis’ room. He groans into Zayn’s lips, and pulls him closer.

“You know, it’s definitely weird watching your brother kiss a guy.” Louis says. “And enjoying it makes it just wrong.”

“You love me.” Gemma says with a laugh. She was stood at the balcony, getting a faint view of the two boys.

“Yes, I do. Sad.” Louis mutters.

They’re leaving the next morning. Harry’s all smiles and Gemma smirks at that, telling Louis he definitely got some. Louis snickers, but doesn’t say anything. Perrie’s not as excited as she usually is. She thanks Louis for everything, making him promise that he’ll come over for lunch sometime and doesn’t spare a glance at Zayn.

Louis and Zayn sit together in the train, engrossed in a conversation about cars that Harry couldn’t care less about. Gemma was beside him, texting their mother about their arrival. “So? Did you get some last night?” She asks out of nowhere, barely a whisper into his ear. Harry jumps at that, glaring at her before chuckling. “You mean like…”

“Yes. Sex.”

“No.”

“What?” Gemma groaned. “You said you were having fun. What did you do? Read romantic poetry and cry about how love hurts?”

Harry might consider doing that soon. “No. There wasn’t sex but there were other things. I don’t think you should be asking me about those things.”

“Why not? I’m your elder sister, loser. I should be knowing when my little brother gets some cock.”

“Gem.” Harry warns, but he’s blushing madly. Zayn and Louis were sat in front of them, too engrossed in their conversation about the upcoming release and Jennifer Lopez’s stolen car to pay attention to their little whisper session.

“Aw, look at my little baby.” Gemma coos before proceeding to take his picture. He managed to hide his face. Louis and Zayn had stopped talking then. Gemma started asking Louis about his mother then, leaving Harry and Zayn alone.

Zayn was looking out of the window as he had luckily won that seat in a debate with Louis. Harry was right opposite to him, so he just stared. Zayn seemed a little upset, Harry figures out it’s because of the recent fight that he had with Perrie and she’s refusing to even talk to him. They’d been together for a long time; Harry always forgets he’s not the only one who gets to be with Zayn. He wasn’t the priority here.

_‘Fun, Harry. You seem like a romantic person, that’s why you end up with a broken heart and a soft cock. You need to fucking live, mate. Lock the door to all the feelings and always let the one you’re having fun with be interested in their other partner. You need to learn. You aren’t having fun if you make him break up with his boyfriend or girlfriend to be with you. You need to let him know, mate. You need to let him know that you’re just for fun. God, remember that. Yeah?’_

 Jesse had lectured him when he tried to have some ‘fun’ with Mark in his math class and he ended up breaking with his girlfriend Penny to be with Harry. All Harry had ever done with him was offer a blowjob and he ends a relationship. Harry was fucking scared and Jesse was there to tell Mark to fuck off. Before Harry could start with someone new, college was done and he was here in London.

Zayn and Perrie did start talking in the car. Liam hugged the life out of Nakshathra. In the car, Harry tried to ignore the deep conversation Perrie and Zayn were having in the back. It wasn’t audible to him, but he could hear bits of it. Words like ‘sorry’, ‘time’, ‘fucking hell’. They were on a repeat and Zayn was the one saying those. Perrie barely said anything.

Anne demanded pictures the moment they walked in. Harry stepped forward to hand her the camera but Gemma was quick to stop him, telling their mother that he’ll transfer the pictures into a laptop so she could see better. Anne frowned at that, but nodded anyways, asking Louis if he took care of both her babies.

Gemma just glared at Harry. “Check all the pictures, jerk. There’s some of you and Zayn.”

Harry just remembered that. “Shit. Yes. I will.”

He went back to his room and locked himself in there. He went through the pictures and died when he saw one of them at the beach. Zayn kissing the life out of him. He didn’t know Gemma was taking pictures from up there. He grinned like an idiot.

The window of the other house was closed and the curtains were pulled. Harry frowned, he had hoped he’d see Zayn there right now but he could be figuring things out with Perrie. He knew that he had to stop feeling things for Zayn and just do it already. Last night Zayn gave him a blowjob and it was the first time somebody had done that to him, so it was the best feeling he had. He wanted to experience that again, but that could wait for now.

So he doesn’t do anything. Transfers the appropriate pictures into his laptop, leaves out all pictures of him with Zayn and scoffs at Perrie and Zayn’s pictures. Shows them to his mother while Louis complains about the camera making him look fatter. She wants to frame every single picture of him and Gemma that Louis had took, and Harry’s seventy percent sure that she’d cry if Louis wasn’t there.

He doesn’t wonder what’s happening with Zayn and Perrie. Instead, he goes out for drinks with Josh, Joshua and Roger. They talk about life and smoke their lungs out. Harry doesn’t drink much, but listens to Roger complain about the girl who wouldn’t go out with him but is ready to be fucked. Harry doesn’t remember how they started this conversation, but he tries to listen with keen interest.

Josh and Joshua are eyeing the same girl and having a debate on who gets her first. Harry’s sure she wouldn’t go with either of them.

It’s late, his mother is calling him but he’s a little too drunk to care. He walks out of the bar and realizes he’s the only one living far, and the rest have already gone to the other direction. He starts walking home, trying his best to look sober.

“Harry!”

He stops and turns around to see Niall. He’s in his BMW, staring at Harry with a smile wide on his lips. “Fancy seeing you this drunk.”

“Hey. Just having the time of my life, mate.”

“Sure you are. Do you even know where your house is?”

“’s not here?” Harry asks, looking around and frowning. Niall starts laughing at that. “Get in, princess. I’ll take you home.”

Harry does get in. He even calls Niall his prince, and Niall’s recording all of that in his phone and laughing about all the new blackmail material that he’s getting. “How’s Zayn?” Niall asks when they’re halfway home. Harry groans. “Zayn is a dick.”

Niall laughs harder.

“No shit. Why? He does forget a lot of things and don’t get me started on his brooding.”

“Hey, his brooding is nice.” Harry fights back with a smile. “’s all the mixed stuff. I don’t get him but whatever… he’s doing fine. He’s always doing fine. He’ll be two seconds away from being shot and he’d be fucking fine.”

“Mate, are you sure that you’re fine?”

“Yeah.” Harry replies with a groan. “Just a little too drunk.”

Niall doesn’t bother him with more questions. Just pauses right in front of Zayn’s house and tells Harry to make it from there. “Got a shift at the hospital, can’t be late. I’m already late but whatever. Take care and see you soon!” Niall’s quickly saying and Harry doesn’t catch half of it but nods anyways with a grin.

He walks into his house, his mother is yelling at him for being this drunk and Gemma’s laughing. Louis is still there, taking pictures and videos with his phone and laughing hysterically. Harry might die from all that noise, so he ignores all of them and goes back to his room. He takes off his shirt immediately when he gets in, and looks at the window. Zayn’s not in his art room. The art room is still closed.

It's fine. Harry wasn’t expecting him to be there. He’s down on his bed, snoring before he could take off his jeans.

 Perrie’s feeling good. She’s had a good holiday, took some great pictures and sent it to her family to remind them that her relationship with Zayn wasn’t as dead as they told her. She has to work today, she had requested Mindy for a leave but Mindy begged her to come and said it’d be worth it. She meets Jordan when he walks into the changing room for the instructors, and Jordan basically jumps on her.

“Perrie!”

“What is it?”

“Perrie.” She repeats with the same excitement on her face. “Another celebrity! Model! You won’t believe who it is.”

“Oh.” Perrie’s eyes brightened. “Miranda Kerr?”

“No. I wish she would come here though.” Jordan sounded a little disappointed but she went back to smiling. “And you have your session with her. Come on, Mindy’s so happy. She always adored you, so I guess adding this model to your list is no big deal. You talked to Karlie Kloss too, hello!”

“It was no big deal.” Perrie’s saying but it was. She nearly died when she saw Karlie in the flesh. She changed into her yoga clothes and walked into the work area. The crowd was a little short, and it was about 11 in the morning. She was feeling great; she had walked in with the hope to see a celebrity. A model.

And she did see a model. The model was one of the most talked about—a new comer who won so many hearts with her beauty. She was sat down on her yoga mat, talking to another lady beside her with a huge smile on her face. The regulars stood up when they saw Perrie and greeted her.

“Namaste.” Perrie’s saying. The smile on her face is forced. She wants to leave right now. “Good to see all of you. Hopefully you have been practicing all of the exercises that I told you to in the last class.”

The model is looking at her with a smile, so she smiles back. “And I’d like to welcome Gigi Hadid. She’s an acclaimed model and I’m lucky that she’s chosen this class. Hopefully you won’t find me too annoying.”

The people laughed at Perrie’s usual humour. “Oh no, you’re quite a nice lady, Ms. Edwards.” Gigi says with a grin. “It’s nice to meet you. Hopefully you won’t find _me_ annoying.”

Perrie just smiles. She can’t think of a nice reply.

The session is a pain. The time goes slower, and Gigi’s already good at all the moves. Perrie can’t find a reason to bring her down from the attitude that she had been caring from the moment she saw Perrie. When it’s finally over, Perrie sighs.

“Picture?” Gigi asks. “I need it for insta. Promised my fans.”

“Okay.” Perrie replies. She puts on a smile and doesn’t flinch when Gigi’s hand is around her waist. Gigi thanks her and starts typing on her phone. Perrie’s starting to leave along with the others when Gigi stops her. “Wait, I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah sure. Can you be quick? I have something important to do.” Perrie says in her nicest voice. Gigi doesn’t seem bothered by that. “Good. How are you?”

“I’m great. Yeah. Doing what I had planned to do.”

“Nice…and what about relationships?”

“You’re asking if I’m still with Zayn?”

Gigi looks amused, but smiles and nods. “Yes. We live together.” Perrie mutters. “Wow, really? Congratulations! Sorry about calling you Edwards back then.”

“Oh—no. We just live together. We’re not married.”

“Engaged?”

Gigi was killing her with those words. “No.” Perrie replies.

“Damn.” Gigi says with a laugh. “After so much, you’re still dating. You’re a great girl, Perrie. You need to get him on the way and tell him to put a ring on it. Too stretched, don’t you think so? After all the cheating…”

“Is this why you came here?”

“What?”

“Did you come here to make me feel bad about myself?” Perrie asks her.

“No.” Gigi mutters. “I just wanted to let you know that Zayn isn’t set on you. He would have done something big if you’ve been together for such a long time. Not even a promise ring?”

That hurt her. “No. That’s none of your business. It was nice meeting you, Jelena.” Perrie says before walking out. Gigi didn’t stop her that time. “My name is Gigi, Jelena was the one who lured your boyfriend!” Was the last sentence that Perrie heard from her before exiting the work area.

Zayn’s phone has been going off for the third time. He groans and opens his eyes. He turns his head and grabs the beeping device from the nightstand. It’s Liam.

He picks up and starts yelling.

 

“What the fuck Liam?! I told you I’ll be sleeping and it’s a bad time and I need to fucking think my life is just— “

“Check Instagram.”

“What?”

“Check Instagram.” Liam repeats. “Gigi’s Instagram?’

“Did she leak my nudes?”

“You sent her nudes?!”

“No!” Zayn replies with a frown. “But she can do anything.”

“Just check it.” Liam says again before cutting the call. Zayn squints his eyes and goes through his Instagram before typing Jelena’s name. He doesn’t follow her, but she has twenty million followers. He checks the recent picture that she had posted and chokes on air for a moment.

Gigi and Perrie together. Smiling. Her arm around Perrie. The caption said ‘LONDON!! Started off with Yoga, and met this lovely instructor. Gosh, total girl crush. SHE’S SO PRETTY.’ And she tagged Perrie. Of course she tagged Perrie.

Gigi even started following Perrie. When he checked Perrie’s account, she had gained over fifty thousand new followers. He was sweating as he went through the pictures and comments. She never posted any pictures of her with him, and he was the one who requested that. He’s thankful for that, but she’s getting loads of attention.

He thinks about calling her, but she’ll be home in a moment. He gets up from the bed and walks out towards the living room. He was so tired, confused and scared. Him and Perrie weren’t fine, she was sad and he was angry. Gigi just had to make it all worse.

His phone beeps and he thinks it’s a message from Liam, but it’s not.

Harry: send nudes

Zayn: what the fuck

Harry: please

Harry: I’m at Josh’s and he burned the food that we were supposed to eat

Harry: all of our assignments are pending and I’m going to die

Harry: please

Zayn: no

Harry: saw the insta post

Harry: Josh LOVES Gigi and fucking died when he saw another ‘hot stuff’ with Gigi

Harry: damn Zayn you like them hot

Zayn: yeah. Look at you.

Harry: that’s a nice way to call me hot. Maybe I’ll give you a show tonight

Zayn: haha go and study

Harry: was that a ‘okay’ or ‘OMG HARRY NO DON’T TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES’

Zayn: STUDY

Harry: okay Mr. Malik, your show is up for nine this night

Zayn couldn’t help but smile at that. He knew he was going to get so much shit from Perrie when she gets home, but he could deal with that knowing something good was going to happen at 9.

Turns out Perrie is indeed very angry.

“Zayn, she just came in there pretending everything was fine. She knew I worked there! I’m sure she made Mindy call me for work. I—I can’t believe her!”

“She asked for a picture too. She had the audacity to touch me—that bitch.”

“And, she still doesn’t think twice before saying anything. She was made for this.”

Perrie’s blowing up. Zayn’s barely said anything. “She’s here for some days. Just ignore her.” Zayn muttered quietly. They had finished their eventful lunch and he decided to put the plates away since Perrie continued to check her Instagram and read the comments from Gigi’s fans.

Zayn isn’t amused that Gigi ended up doing something like that. It was pure Jelena Hadid attitude that he dealt with in Uni. He was washing the plates when his phone beeped in his pocket. He glanced over at Perrie who was still blowing up in her chair, going through her phone and typing vigorously. He would laugh, but he’s not sure if he should risk that.

When he checks his phone, it’s a message from Harry.

H: Hey, no strip show tonight. Gotta go out with mates. They think I’m too much of an introvert sooo

H: So I asked them if I could bring a friend

H: Coming?

Z: maybe

H: HAH. Tell me if you are before 8

H: because I leave at 8. Around 8:30 I suppose

H: drinks night. Everything is on Roger and it’s at some bar called Lights?? Everybody knows that place… I don’t

Z: I know that place

H: Great. At least you’ll be useful.

Z: shithead

H: text me before 8 okay?

Z: Yeah

“Zayn?” Perrie calls out for him. He places his phone back into his pocket before taking a seat beside her on their dinner table. “She said something… about us.” Perrie starts off. “It’s stupid, she’s stupid and I should ignore her, I know that. But she did make a little sense.”

“What is it?” Zayn’s heart was beating like crazy. He knew Gigi spoke whatever that came into her mind and she might have spat the truth along the lines of making fun of Perrie. “We’ve been together for so long… and we… we’re not going anywhere.”

“Perrie.”

“I know.” She continues, cutting Zayn off before he could say anything else. “I’ve been fine with this. You know that, yeah? But you know Liam too, right? We’d been together for three years before Liam met his current fiancée. I just…”

There. She finally dropped the question and Zayn wants to jump off a cliff because he doesn’t have an answer. “Yeah.” He mutters. “I know.”

“So?”

“So?” Zayn repeats.

“ _Zayn_. Just, just stop giving me ideas and tell me if we’re wasting each other’s time. Just tell me if you want this to end because I can’t deal with the fights anymore and you barely even touch me anymore. It’s insane.”

“Give me some time. Yeah?”

“Isn’t that all that I’ve been giving you? It’s about time that I need answers. I’ll give you four days.” She announces while getting up from her seat. Zayn watched her walk into their room helplessly and placed his head down on the table. He knew he should have thought thoroughly about this. Mom was right. It was about time that she stopped being patient and give up.

Perrie stopped talking to him. Again. Zayn knew that he had to give her an answer already, talk to Liam and his parents for help. His parents would just tell him to buy a ring. Liam would start lecturing on how good Perrie is for him and it’d be like having a diamond and throwing it away. He doesn’t know anymore.

He decides that he’ll go for drinks with Harry and his stupid friends.

“I’m going out. To think.” Zayn informs Perrie when she raises an eyebrow the moment he opens the front door. She doesn’t say anything, but nods along. He’s on the sidewalk of his house when he notices Harry walk out of his door. His hair is wild as ever, he’s dressed in all black and Zayn smiles at him.

“Wait.” Zayn says when Harry greets him. “Is that a sheer shirt? Do men even wear that? And you know that they provide buttons so you can _use_ them?”

“Men do wear this.” Harry sounds offended. “And, it’s my style.”

“Yes. _Lay all over me_ style.”

“Do you want to lay all over me?”

“Maybe.”

Harry laughs at that. Zayn’s thankful that they’ve reached this stage of their unhealthy relationship. They walk. Harry tells Zayn about his friends, the three that he has and how they’ve been trying to get him out just once for a drink since he always refuses.

“So, your wife doesn’t mind that you’re out this late? With a teenager?” Harry asks.

Zayn flinches at that. Wife. Something that Perrie’s been looking forward to and Zayn has no clue about. Now that he thinks about it, Perrie’s been indirectly telling him that she wants it. She wants it all with him. She’d talk about Liam’s engagement for hours, show him baby pictures and tell him how amazing married sex is (she said that Katherine discussed so much about it that she had to tell someone else too. Not that she wanted Zayn to freak out)

He always turned a blind eye to that and she always accepted it. He realizes that he might have been a huge twat.

“Hey—sorry. I was just kidding; you know?” Harry apologizes quickly when Zayn doesn’t reply, or smile.

“No, it’s fine. Just a bit of a rough time for us, yeah?”

“Yeah. Sorry about that. But hey, forget that. Look at everybody staring at my almost naked chest.” Harry whispered into his ear before chuckling. For a second Zayn thinks that Harry’s kidding again, but then he looks around and notices that people are staring at him. Or his chest to be quite on the mark.

He laughs at that. “Must be wondering where they’re having a strip show. Don’t be surprised if somebody asks you for a good time.”

“I’m waiting for that, honestly.” Harry grunts. Zayn glances at him for a second, and he looks serious.

They reach Lights in a few minutes, and it’s well lit up with a decent crowd waiting to get inside. They wait, and Harry decides that he should tell Zayn a joke about cats. It’s not funny and then Harry starts rambling about the sushi he had tomorrow. When they get in, he’s still on about how awful the sushi was and how he wanted to have a good one someday.

“Harry.”

“What? It was bad. Okay?”

“We’re in. Where are your friends? Do they rant about sushi too?” Zayn asks with a groan. Harry laughs at that, holds his hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world and walks through the crowd. The club is just like the other one, just a little too crowded. They were playing some song by The Weeknd and people were going crazy on the floor.

“Josh!” Harry says, letting go of his hand. Zayn notices three guys looking at him suspiciously. “This is my friend Zayn.” Harry introduces him and wraps his arm around Zayn’s waist.

Zayn wants to die. The three of them smirk simultaneously when Harry’s arm snakes around his waist. “Hey. I’m Josh.” The guy’s dark with a great smile, fancy quiff like Zayn’s and lip piercing. “And I’m Joshua.” The other guy beside him, with curly hair and eyebrow piercing. “Roger.” The final guy with red hair said with a smirk. Zayn would be fine if they stopped smirking at him.

“Nice to meet you guys.” Zayn says awkwardly. There’s a moment of silence before Josh laughs. “Come on, sit. We need to drink our hearts out and make sure Roger goes bankrupt!”

Roger doesn’t seem happy, but doesn’t protest. Harry sits down between Joshua and Roger, Zayn has to sit beside Josh, the only empty seat on the bar stand. He orders a pint of British Bitter. Harry’s just two seats away, but when Josh’s staring at him like that, he feels too far. “So,” Josh starts off. Zayn finally looks at him. “How old are you?”

Zayn sighs. Harry’s talking about something interesting which requires moving his hands and smiling a lot. Roger seems interested in that, Joshua is just nodding along. “23.” Zayn replies.

“Oh, you working?”

“Yeah. Teaching Art at Greenberg Comprehensive.”

“No shit.” Josh sounds excited. “I used to go there. Fucking hated the teachers, mate.”

Zayn manages to laugh at that. “We’re not that bad.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Zayn doesn’t want to look at Josh because the air around him is suddenly too thick. Josh seems too close and he feels a little drunk. “You’re dating Harry?” Josh asks, his hand might be brushing his thigh. Zayn chuckles. Dating Harry. “No.” He replies bitterly. He had a girlfriend to think about.

“That’s nice.” Josh’s hand is finally on his thigh and his breath hitches. “I…”

“Hey, Zayn.” Harry’s voice makes Josh snap his hand away. He’s right behind Zayn, glaring at Josh before smiling back. “Seems like you got some good company. Anyways, I was wondering if you’d come with me? Got a text from Gem, there might be some kind of an issue going on in the neighbourhood.”

“Okay.” Zayn replies before finishing his pint and rushing outside with Harry. They walked through the backdoor, and nobody was outside. The alley was deserted and the only light that was present is the ‘LIGHTS’ in neon colours. There’s two people on the far end that Zayn can’t see, but they seem too busy to pay attention to them.

“What the fuck, Zayn?”

“What?”

“Don’t act like that.” Harry’s angry. Zayn’s never seen Harry this angry. “Josh was all over you and you let him. Is this why you agreed to come? So you could pull some blokes in here?”

“Harry. No. I was fucking surprised when he did that, okay? But we weren’t going to do anything.”

“Oh right. His hand was on your thigh and you thought, ‘whatever, this is no big deal’. Maybe if his hand was on your cock you’d pretend like it wasn’t happening!”

“What the hell, mate? I came here to be free from my problems for a while. Everybody is shitting on me. I’m so done with this. I’m so done with Perrie pressurizing the engagement on me along with my family and Liam. I’m so fucking done.”

“Huh? Engagement?” Harry’s voice changed from angry to surprised.

“Yeah. That’s right, Harry. Perrie wants me to get on a knee with a ring. Be mine forever and shit. She wants kids and stuff, and I’m so scared. Fuck.”

“And you’re going to propose?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Damn. I hope she’ll be happy knowing that she’s pining for someone who cheated on her numerous times.”

“Just… you don’t know me. Fuck off, man. I can’t believe you’re pissing me off too. Where is this coming from? Weren’t we supposed to be having ‘fun’, Harry? Aren’t you the little slut around here?”

Harry froze at that. “Sorry. I’ll be going home now.” He says after a moment of silence. Zayn doesn’t stop him when he goes back inside.

“Zayn Malik?”

There’s a guy looking at him. He’s dressed in all black, and he looks suspicious. “Yes?”

“Good. Come with me.”

Zayn follows him. He’s one of the two people on the other side. There’s somebody sat on the ground with their back to the wall. That person is looking at Zayn with a smile.

“We meet again.”

Zayn smiles at Gigi. “Fantastic. Yeah?”

She laughs at that, patting the space beside her. They were both drunk, so Zayn doesn’t mind talking to her right now. “I thought two guys were having lovers’ quarrel back there. Then I suspected one of them might be you. Didn’t plan on seeing you here.”

“I didn’t plan on meeting you here.”

“Talk about fate.” Gigi muttered. “I was waiting for a friend.”

“What friend?”

“Cara Delevingne.”

“Right.” Zayn mutters. “The one who’s a celebrity.”

“I am a celebrity too, if you didn’t know that.”

“I know.” Zayn says. She looks the same as before. That’s something that he always liked about her. She never used to change so much that you’ll barely recognize her. “I guess Perrie went off at you. My apologies.”

“Haha, fuck you for that.” Zayn says then looks at the man staring at them. “Your bodyguard?”

“Yeah. He’s nice, don’t worry about it.” Gigi assured him. “How are you doing? How’s life? And sorry, I’m just glad that you’ve sorted everything out with Perrie. Nice to see that you’re still with her after everything that has happened.”

“Yeah. I’m surprised too.”

“So… who was the guy back there? One of your friends?”

“No.” Zayn says. “My neighbour. We’re kind of…”

“Neighbour?! How scandalous.”

Zayn laughs at that. “I’m never going to see you again, yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

Zayn tells her everything. Not everything, bits of it, probably. She listens carefully.

“I’m so fucked, man.”

“No.” Gigi says. “Something is wrong.”

“What is?” Him being a guy?”

“No! I knew you were bisexual from the first year.” Gigi says. “But… I don’t know. I’m surprised you didn’t tell Liam about this. Main reason why everything is going to shit, and on late thoughts, are you going to propose her?”

“I don’t know. Liam might throw me off a cliff for that. And, I don’t know. Thanks for the pressure.”

“It was supposed to happen. Can’t stop the inevitable.” She’s saying the truth. Zayn hates it, but he has to admit that. He couldn’t help but nod along to that. They talk for a bit before Zayn realizes all he needs is a good night’s sleep to forget this.

“I’ll be going now.” He announces while getting on his feet. She looks up at him and smiles. “It was nice to talk to you. Maybe we’ll meet again in some months, or years. Hopefully you’ll be having beautiful kids by that time.”

Zayn chuckles. “Sure. See you.”

“Goodbye, Zayn Malik.”

Perrie’s asleep when he gets back. He sits down on the bed, thinks about the words Harry had said to him and the words Gigi had told him. He looks down at Perrie who was sleeping peacefully, not aware of all the horrible things he had been doing to sabotage their relationship to the very extend. After all, she’s his best friend first and girlfriend second.

Harry and Zayn don’t talk after that incident.

Zayn stays in his art room with his curtains closed, drawing. Harry works on his assignments. Perrie does yoga. He can’t do this anymore; he needs to talk to somebody. Zayn’s running out of time, and Perrie turns sadder every passing day.

He has the ring.

The one his mother had handed to him with a smile, promising to give it to the one who makes him happy. It’s been lying with his art supplies. He can’t risk it in his and Perrie’s joined wardrobe, Perrie would definitely find it. All that’s left is to propose.

So he calls Harry on a late night.

“What?”

“Sorry. Were you sleeping?”

“No.” Harry muttered. “I was studying.”

“Okay. It’s just… I’m confused. And scared. Can we meet?”

“Now?”

“Backyard.”

“Okay.” Harry whispers. “I’ll climb over yours.”

Zayn doesn’t try to make a joke. He cuts the call and walks outside. Perrie’s asleep, and he makes sure not to make any loud noise and alert everybody. He takes a deep breath when he walks out, looks right at Harry’s backyard. He wasn’t there.

He sits down at the beanbag kept there. Perrie was sat outside reading, she might have forgot to keep it back.

Harry’s there. He looks right at Zayn with no expression visible on his face. He climbs over the tiny fence and stands in front of Zayn. “What is it?” Harry asks. Zayn gets up from the beanbag and bites his lower lip slowly. “Sorry. I know you were studying but… I—I have to make a choice.”

“What choice?” Harry asks. He’s more confused than angry.

“The proposal.”

“Right.” Harry says with a smile. “You’re doing it?”

“Should I?”

“Why are you asking me?” Harry’s annoyed. “I mean nothing to you. She’s the love of your life, isn’t she? I’m just a teenager that you’ve had a little fun with. Nothing major, mate. You’ve known me for like, three months. I don’t know. Who am I to tell you?”

“Fuck, Harry. Just tell me.” Zayn grabs his hand. “I’ll do it. I’ll get on my knee and propose her. But you know what it means? I’ll have to invite you, your family, Liam and all her people. That’s how it should happen. Should I do it, Harry? Put an end to us and finally start being a good partner?”

“Do you love her?” Harry asks.

“Yeah. Of course, we’ve been together for more than five years.”

“Is it necessary to invite my family?” Harry asks.

“Why not?”

 _I don’t think I can watch you promise yourself to someone else_. It’s on Harry’s lips, but he can barely say a word. “Five years. Do you know that time doesn’t mean shit if that time is spent in fucking misery? And even a day spent with someone else is more valuable than those five years, if you spent that smiling and being happy.” Harry says. When Zayn lets go of his wrist, he steps closer to the older man and presses their foreheads together.

“I missed you.” Harry says. “I thought we would stop fighting, maybe you called me here to end this bad phase we were going through. Then I realized I was being plain stupid. You love her, of course. You should be with her. You should do it.”

Then he closes his eyes and kisses Zayn. He’s crying, he feels like shit but Zayn’s kissing him back. His hands are on Harry’s waist, Harry’s hands are on his neck, they’ve missed each other. “I’m a fucking idiot.” Harry whispers into his lips. “I let you go before I even… I can’t…”

“It’s okay.” Zayn whispers with a smile. “We have this moment, yeah? We’re kind of good at living the moment by the way.” He adds a laugh. Harry chuckles and nods before kissing him again. They fall down on Zayn’s beanbag, Harry’s on his lap and they don’t stop kissing. Harry doesn’t want to let go, knowing that the next time he sees Zayn he’d be a promised man. Not that this wasn’t wrong, but being with someone who’s definitely going to get married did hurt him.

Jesse was a fucking idiot for saying all the right words that have been haunting Harry for the past few days. Right after Zayn Malik smiled at him and made him feel so special, he let it all go.

“Zayn.” Harry whispers onto his lips. He’s done. They’re done. “I love you.”

Zayn doesn’t say anything, but he kisses him again. Harry’s eyes are wet; he can barely see Zayn so he keeps his eyes closed. They pull away after a moment, Harry buries his face into Zayn’s neck and sighs. Zayn’s hands are still on his waist, rubbing his back slowly with the other hand. “I love you too.” Zayn whispers.

Harry holds him tighter and doesn’t lift his head from Zayn’s neck, taking in the warmth before it’s all gone.

The next day is a mess.

Zayn’s calling his family, Perrie’s family and Liam to announce his engagement and telling them to arrive at his house right at seven. Perrie’s working today, Zayn promised to talk about the ‘thing’ when she gets back. Looking at her, Zayn knows that it’s over. She looks broken but she puts on a smile. He knows it’s going to be alright.

He calls Anne and tells her. She’s happy, she tells him that they’ll be a great couple. Zayn just chuckles at that.

Liam’s crying more than his mother. “I cannot believe this.” He had said. “Two of my best friends are finally getting married. I could cry a river.”

“Very dramatic.” Nakshathra blurted. “I’m happy for you, by the way. Can’t wait to see her face when she learns about this.”

Zayn doesn’t like Perrie’s parents, but he has to make them happy. Wants to prove that he’s worthy of their daughter when he knows he’s _far_ from that. His house is a little crowded right before Perrie’s arrival.

His three sisters managed to come too. Safaa’s been demanding food from the moment they walked in, Walihya was too excited to say a word and Doniya wished him good luck. Jonnie, Perrie’s brother, continues to glare at him. Zayn couldn’t care less about that. His mother is crying; Liam decides to join her on that. Nakshathra laughs at that, takes lots of pictures of Liam, promising to send them to his sisters and Zayn.

He’s nervous. Anne, Gemma and Harry are here, but he’s been doing his best to not look at Harry. They’re all dressed up, and Zayn tries not to flinch under Gemma’s glare. He knew it was a bad idea. She knew about the thing they had, Zayn knew it.

The bell goes off and everybody is rushing. Of course Perrie’s mother said they should hide and let Zayn propose, then come out and surprise her. When everybody is done hiding, Zayn opens the door. Perrie walks in, completely tired and he hopes she doesn’t say anything embarrassing.

“Perrie. Wait.” He says when she’s turning to go to their room, almost catching Jonnie who was hid behind the couch. She turns around to look at him with a scowl. “I’m tired, Zayn. Let me just change.”

“No.” He says and he walks towards her, getting on his knee. Her eyes widen and she’s trying not to squeal. He manages to fish out the small box from his pocket and opens it, revealing a shiny ring that has Perrie crying. “So, we’ve been together for more than five years now. I can’t be happier with anybody else, you’re the reason why I’ve been staying strong. Perrie Edwards, will you marry me?”

She’s nodding hysterically. “Yes!” She finally blurts out when Zayn pushes the ring into her finger. Everybody comes out of their hiding place, which only causes her to cry more. They start congratulating both of them, Zayn puts up a smile and looks at her. She’s happy.

“You came this far for me?” She’s asking her parents, but then they say they live only two hours away from train, so it’s not such a big deal. Jonnie finally looks pleased as he gives Zayn a side hug.

Soon, all of them are leaving. The Styles are last to leave because Perrie had to give something back to Gemma, and Anne was showing some pictures from the trip to Zayn since Harry had got them processed. “These are great.” He says, looking at the pictures of him and Perrie _trying_ to be a happy couple. The ones Harry had taken.

Perrie’s gone to change, complaining about the smudged makeup to Gemma who laughs. They leave, but Harry stops midway. He walks back towards Zayn, takes some pictures from the messenger bag he had (Zayn wanted to ask him why he was carrying that), giving them to Zayn. “Just thought I should give them to you. As a…memory. Or just burn them if you like.” Harry’s blabbering, not looking into Zayn’s eyes. Then he walks out, closing the door behind him.

Zayn looks down at the pictures. There are pictures of him and Harry. Eating churros, at the carousel and a picture from the beach where he thought nobody was looking. He smiled. _Gemma did know about us._

He decides to keep those pictures in his art room.

 The holidays end and they’re back on their schedule. Perrie’s so happy, she posted the ring on her Instagram and Gigi Hadid liked it. He finally thinks everything is fine, but then Gigi sends him a direct message through Instagram.

OfficialGigi: So if I pressurize you enough can you buy me a mansion in LA?

Zayn knows what she means. But Perrie was happy, he could deal with the rest of the ‘marriage’ related things later.

“Congratulations Mr. Malik!” The whole class yells when he walks into his first lecture. He chuckles. He knew that telling Michelle about the engagement in the teacher’s lounge wasn’t a good idea. He thanks all of them, but gets straight to the point about their projects. All of them take their drawings and place it on their desk.

Zayn collects them all and places it on the side. He’s eyeing his own hidden work, wondering if it was safe to show it to the students. Maybe they forgot he was supposed to do one too.

“You promised to show yours.” Steph complained from the first desk. “Come on, Mr. Malik!”

The whole class started to cheer. He shushed them and smiled. “Okay, I did bring one. Since you people told me that I couldn’t draw Perrie, I drew one of my friends.” He unveiled the painting and the class went silent for a moment before cheering. “You’re the next Picasso, Mr. Malik!” Somebody yelled and everybody started throwing compliments.

“Who is that, sir?” Steph asked.

“That’s my friend Harry. He’s studying in UCL right now.” He replies.

“He’s not old like you.” Steph continued with a giggle. He glared at her. “Now enough with that, let’s get back on our new topics. Hopefully everybody had a great Easter.”

Harry tries to stay awake during his classes. “Hey man, I’m sorry.” Josh is continuing to apologize to him after the ‘Zayn’ incident.

“It’s fine.” Harry finally replies. “He’s engaged.”

“What?”

“Yeah. To a girl that he’d been dating for like, 5 years. Got engaged yesterday. They used to study here.” Harry muttered.

“Oh. Are you okay?”

“Me? I’m fine. Why?”

“Um, because you’re in love with Zayn?”

Harry would scoff, but he’s right. So he just chuckles. “I have a history of bad romances, I guess.”

Josh just smiles sadly at him. Harry’s day couldn’t get worse.

Gigi knows she’s not going to get a reply from Zayn. That’s why she keeps on spitting the truth.

OfficialGigi: HAH. I can’t believe she’s happy that you proposed. UNDER PRESSURE. Is that love? Then I’m glad to be single.

OfficialGigi: honestly don’t understand why you even proposed. And is she mad? Is everybody mad? Isn’t anyone complaining about the rush you proposed in? On such a short notice?

OfficialGigi: Sorry for ranting for so long but… is everybody this dumb? Hasn’t anybody noticed that you’re not happy with this?

ZaynMalik: um, I am happy.

OfficialGigi: He knows how to reply! Damn!

OfficialGigi: haha don’t lie

OfficialGigi: I’m in Italy right now. I can feel your unhappiness here.

ZaynMalik: I don’t care, Jelena.

OfficialGigi: Ok J But Perrie’s insta is glittery. I was thinking about commenting something.

ZaynMalik: don’t you dare

OfficialGigi: lol k. Found the pretty boy you were fucking with. HE’S SO CUTE. MARRY HIM.

ZaynMalik: what kind of a stalker are you?

OfficialGigi: A famous one. Perrie posted some pictures with him so. I follow pretty boy. His name is Harry Styles, right? HE’S SO BROKEN DAMN.

Zayn didn’t even know what Harry’s Instagram name was. Instead of replying to Gigi, he checks out Harry’s account. His last lecture at school was cancelled due to some reasons and he was free to go home. He decided to stay back, since he didn’t have his car today and Michelle offered to drive him home. “Need to congratulate the lucky woman, eh?” She had said with a grin. Zayn gave his best smile.

Turns out Harry isn’t a kind of person who posts his own pictures on the gram. There’s barely three of his own photos, others were of different places and other people. Mostly quotes and lyrics, all pictures in black and white. He doesn’t post often. Zayn’s eyes land on the lyrics he posted the day he told Harry he’d be proposing Perrie.

The picture is words written in a plain black font.

‘Bittersweet chemistry,  
I can’t escape you anywhere, even in my dreams  
All that’s in my head are pictures of memories,  
Words that you said to me…’

And the caption says, ‘Never really listened to this song before. It’s amazing, honestly.’

There’s a comment by Joshua calling him an emotional freak to which there’s no reply. Zayn notices that Perrie has liked it, she has liked all of Harry’s pictures. It’s weird how she didn’t catch that something was wrong with them.

The huge portrait was sat in the back of Michelle’s car. He wasn’t sure if he could take it home without being questioned by Perrie. His fiancée.

“Hey, you can go ahead. I need to give this to my neighbour.” Zayn said when Michelle was heading towards his house. She frowned at that. “Um, why? You didn’t even show me the drawing. Is it a graphic one?”

“No.” Zayn replies with a grin. “Just a family drawing that wasn’t done by me. I’m just delivering it.” He lies smoothly. She doesn’t suspect a thing.

“Fine. I’ll be in the house.”

He walks towards Harry’s house, carrying the painting with him. He had hidden it carefully with a cloth. Michelle was already inside; he couldn’t see her anymore.

It was Anne who opened the door. “Zayn! What a surprise.” She says with a smile. Zayn smiles back. “Hey Anne. Is Harry home?” He asks hopefully.

She nods at that. “Sure. He’s upstairs. Is that one of your paintings?”

“No. It’s, nothing. Something that Harry asked me to get him. It’s a surprise or something, asked that I let nobody see it.”

“Oh.” She sounds a little suspicious. “That’s Harry. Come on in. You can go up to his room.”

He walks in and he can see Gemma sat on the sofa, typing in on her laptop. She glances at him and offers a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. He smiles back sadly, knowing that she wanted to kill him for doing that to her brother. He walked upstairs slowly, wondering what Harry could be up to right now. The door to Harry’s room was opened, and he could hear heavy breathing from inside.

He takes a deep breath before placing his hand on the door knob and opening it. Harry was on the floor, doing push-ups with his eyes fixed to the ground and he was shirtless.

“Um.” Zayn started off. Harry looked up, immediately stopping. The younger male quickly got up and Zayn’s eyes just decided that they should check out his sweating body. “What are you doing here?” Harry asks. He didn’t sound as angry as Zayn expected him to be.

“So, I have to assign projects to my students before holidays and stuff like that. They asked me to draw someone that I like, I started on this before we went to Brighton and completed it a few days back. I took this to school and, I thought I’d give it to you.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s you that I’ve drawn.” Zayn continues, closing the door behind him and stepping closer to Harry. He removed the cloth and Harry stared down at the painting. Zayn was scared, thinking that Harry would grab it and throw it out of the window in frustration. But he kept on looking at the canvas with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth. “Can I… can I…” He hesitated, his hands reaching forward to hold the painting.

“Yeah, sure.” Zayn’s handing it to him. Harry looks at it closely, holding his bottom lip between his teeth. The painting wasn’t that special, it wasn’t his best. Harry was sat on a couch, laughing at something with his eyes closed. The dimples, everything that Zayn could remember, he drew it all. “It’s nice.” Harry finally says. “Thank you.”

“Yeah. You’re welcome.” Zayn replies with a grin. His eyes shift to the window, which gave a clear view to his art room. He looks for a little too long, he knows Harry’s staring too. “I should go.” Zayn suddenly says with a laugh. “Came right here after work.”

Zayn’s leaving for the door, but Harry reaches forward and places his hand on Zayn’s shoulder. “Wait,” He says. Zayn’s turning around, Harry takes his hand off the shoulder. It’s burning.

“I didn’t congratulate you.” Harry’s hand is forward for a shake. “For your happy engagement to Perrie. You’ll be great together.”

He flinches at that. He wants to laugh, but Harry doesn’t think it’s funny. He looks serious, and Zayn takes is hand. Remembering the warmth of Harry’s hands when they were intertwined with his on the beach. The last night when Harry told him that he loved him, and he said those words back. They held their hands just like that. But this was all too formal, his hands a little small in comparison to Harry’s. His brain’s going crazy.

Harry Styles is a dangerous kid. He reminds himself of that.

“See you.” Zayn whispers so that Harry can barely hear it. He takes his hand back, looks at Harry who’s staring right at him. Before he could say anything else, Anne is barging into the room. “Zayn!” She’s saying. Her eyes fall onto the painting on the bed and she squeals. Zayn wants to jump out of the window.

“Zayn! I knew you were lying! You drew this?” She sounds super excited. “Can you draw me and Gemma too?”

“Mom.” Harry mutters.

“Yeah, sure. I have a long list, I’ll put you two on the top. Priorities.” Zayn replies with a grin. She blushes at that. “You really are charming. Anyways, I heard that you work as a teacher at Greenberg Comprehensive. Is that right?”

“Yes, I do work there.”

“Nice! Harry, you should go there. It’s perfect!” She’s beaming with excitement. But Harry looks scared. “No.” He says. “No, I’ll go to the Sunrise one with Josh.”

“The Sunrise one is too far and a college. Come on, you don’t need to be dealing with people who are almost your age. Middle schoolers are the best.”

“What am I missing here?” Zayn asks.

“Harry’s signed up for some event where they teach students a particular subject for a week and the main teacher inspects them. Tells the university how his performance went with the kids and how he handled them. He did that because he wanted to mingle with people and make some more friends, he’s stupid. But, this is a great idea! And what subject where you assigned, love?”

“I have to choose between Biology, English and Art.” Harry grunted.

“Art. Yes! Zayn, you teach art. This is a good opportunity for you, honey.”

“Yes, I did hear about it. A few students signed up for this. Nobody yet has come in for art, but I think Biology and English are done.” Zayn informs Anne who’s more than happy to hear that. “It’s set. You’ll go for registration tomorrow and meet the students. That’s amazing!”

“I don’t want to be a burden to Zayn, mum.”

“No.” Zayn finds himself saying. “It’s no burden, Harry.”

Harry doesn’t look at him. “Thank you so much, Zayn. You’re a good lad.” Anne says with a smile. Zayn smiles back. _If she only knew_.

It’s a very bad idea.

Very bad indeed.

“Who’s this cute boy waiting for you?” Michelle asks with a smile. He groans at that. Harry did sign up and decided to introduce himself to the whole teacher’s lounge. Everybody liked him and he spent half of the time telling them about his life goals and why he was doing management studies.

“The volunteer.”

“No way. Somebody is actually opting for Art?”

“Art is not that bad. It’s nothing, actually. All you need to talk about is the beauty of it.” Zayn fights back. “It’s easier than Biology.”

“Excuse me, Biology is an art.” Michelle, the worshipper of Biology, says. “Art is something that doesn’t make sense.”

“Let’s not argue about it.” Zayn replies with a smile, taking the student files. “Wish me luck.”

“You’re not teaching today.”

“I am. This is his first day, all that he’s going to do is watch me teach them.”

Michelle just laughs evilly.

Harry walks beside him through the classes. He inspects everything, doesn’t say much or ask anything to Zayn. “How are the students?” Harry finally asks. “Since I get to watch you for the first day.”

“They’re fine.” Zayn mutters. His first lecture has to be with the eighth graders. The ones who had to do the project and the ones who had seen his painting of Harry. It was a bad idea indeed. He was hoping that nobody would recognize him. The class is full when they enter. Everybody falls silent as the two of them walk in.

“Morning everybody.” Zayn says. “This is Harry Styles, a student from UCL here to teach you the upcoming five days.”

The students are still silent. Harry feels uncomfortable under their gaze. Then they start whispering, and Zayn has to shush them. “Take a seat.” Zayn whispers to Harry. The student nods, walking in the back where there was only one seat vacant. The other kids watched him sit down before Zayn had to turn their attention back to himself.

“Mr. Malik?” Steph decides to poke in when he’s about to start off another topic. “Yes, Steph?” He asks with a forced smile.

“Isn’t he the one from your painting?”

He doesn’t say anything for a moment. “Nice observation, Steph. Sit down.”

She grins, sitting back on her chair and giggling along with some other students beside her. He looks at Harry who’s staring right at him with a smile. He turns to the white board, grabbing a marker and sighing with a smile on his face. It was indeed a bad idea.

He writes down a word on the board. ‘Sculpture’.

Everybody groans. He scoffs at that, sitting back down on his chair. “So, now you know why I told you to bring the papers today. Hopefully all of you brought your own papers.” He puts on his reading glasses and looks through the student list. Then he starts off with the attendance. He does his best to not look at Harry and pretend that he wasn’t there, watching every single of his movement.

The students take out their own pieces of paper when Zayn tells them to. They know Zayn is strict about it, so nobody forgot. “Good. So do what you have to do. Take the paper, use your scissors and glue, don’t cut yourself and be creative. You have thirty minutes.” When he finishes with his sentence, everybody is off with their work. His eyes finally land on Harry. He’s staring down at his phone.

He gets up. The students look at him, but he signals them to continue. He walks through the desks, looking at each of their desks before snatching the phone from Harry’s hands. He seems surprised, but looks at Zayn with a frown. “Sorry Mr. Styles. No phones in class.” He says, as sweetly as possible before going back to his desk.

He sits back down, going through some student files and papers, glancing at Harry during small intervals to see him interacting with students. He would yell at him for disturbing them, but he doesn’t. He just watches. Harry laughs a little, holding a piece of paper and drawing something on it before showing it to the student beside him.

Everything goes fine. Harry doesn’t say much, just watches when Zayn explains something to the students and chats with them when Zayn assigns something.

“So? How were the students?” Zayn asks when they’re in his car, driving back. Harry stares out of the window. “They were nice.”

“Really?” Zayn scoffs.

“Yeah. I like the eighth graders.”

“They’re such a pain.” Zayn says with a laugh. Harry chuckles at that. “Thanks by the way. I know mom just, jumped on you for this. I need to do good here, so you’ll tell me if I fuck up. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Zayn assures him because he’s sure Harry wasn’t going to fuck up in the first place. The students were probably ready to replace him with Harry.

Perrie’s unstoppable.

“We’ll marry in London, because that’s where it all began. Yeah?” She starts off the moment he walks in. She’s got books everywhere. Food recipes, wedding dresses, catalogues and the house is a mess. “What?” Zayn mutters. “I’m hungry.”

“Food is in the kitchen, but London is fine. Yeah? I asked your mom, she said that it’s all up to me and you. And, Doniya wanted to help but she’s a little too busy with work. She’ll call later, I emailed all of these details to mom and she’s happy about it. The chapel here…”

“Perrie.”

“Sorry. You should eat first.” She says with a chuckle. “A little too excited.”

“Yeah.” He whispers. She goes back to her books, he goes into the kitchen and grabs a bottle of juice, grimacing when he accidentally grabs Perrie’s signature Kale juice. He manages to find a can of Pepsi hidden in the freezer and sighs, sitting down on one of the dinner table chairs, glancing at Perrie who went through the books.

It suddenly seems like a bad idea.

Ever since they got engaged, marriage is all that she talks about. They hadn’t discussed about a date or if they were going to get married this year or the next year, it all seemed fine for now. But he couldn’t deal with this. Soon she would start pressurizing him with marriage too.

He places his phone on the table and finishes the drink in two gulps. He’s definitely going to be sick. Then a message pops up on the screen.

Michelle: Hey Zayn. Are you okay?

Michelle: Something doesn’t feel right.

She’s right. He’s not okay. He doesn’t reply to her, but goes straight for a shower. Perrie is talking to her mum on the phone, discussing about the dresses and her cousins who got married in different ways, and she wanted everything to be new and amazing but in budget too. Zayn’s definitely not sure about this.

So he thinks.

Harry’s tired. The first day with Zayn, and the students was a good one. He told his mother about it who told him that he should’ve opted for being a teacher since he’s good with kids, but he’s fine with doing management. Gemma shows them the pictures Louis sent to her during his trip to Iceland for business. “He said he’ll take me there sometime.” Gemma had said with a smile.

She’s a freelancer. She writes a blog, just like her mother, based on certain topics circulating and sometimes on politics. She had fine amount of hits there. Other than that she’s an editor, worked with some authors and made good money out of that. He wished he had the amount of confidence that she carries around. If he did, he wouldn’t be such a mess right now.

‘Dude, how aren’t you dead yet?’ Josh had said with a laugh. ‘Art. And middle schoolers. I got Biology and freshmen. Fucking amazing, mate.’

Yeah. Everybody was happy with what they got, and everybody was looking forward to their week together. Not that Harry wasn’t glad that he’d be given attendance from his University for a week since he barely does attend lectures, he’d be teaching middle schoolers about art. Something that he barely understood when he was in school.

The books that Zayn had given to him for the upcoming week with the students were laid on his desk, haunting him. He took a deep breath before sitting down and opening one of the colourful books. He spends about two hours going through it, making some paper art and admiring his own work. Maybe he’ll post it later on Instagram and call himself an aspiring artist.

After a quiet dinner with his family, he’s back in his room. He stares at Zayn’s window which is pulled open after almost three days. It’s nice, but nobody’s there. The room isn’t quiet visible, and Harry wonders if Zayn’s asleep right now. It was eleven and he could be asleep.

He’s angry. Mostly at himself for forgetting that what Zayn and him were doing was just ‘fun’ and he was eventually going to go back to Perrie.

His phone is ringing. It’s probably Josh, ringing him to make fun about him being a ‘art teacher for little shits’. But it’s not Josh. He picks up the call so quickly, he later feels a little embarrassed about it.

“Zayn. What’s up?” Harry tries to sound nonchalant but he’s freaking out. Zayn hasn’t texted or called after the ‘engagement’ or since their last professional meet at school. “Hey, Harry. I hope I didn’t disturb you or something like that… were you sleeping?” Zayn’s voice is low, Harry wonders if Perrie is asleep right now.

“No, I was just going through the art books. Doesn’t seem to be as hard and frustrating as I was expecting.” Harry replies with a laugh. He takes it as a win when Zayn laughs at that. “Yeah, art’s alright. Middle school art is super easy; you’re definitely going to do good on that. The students will love you, don’t worry about it. Is everybody at home asleep?”

“Yeah. Gem has some meeting tomorrow so she went to sleep. Mom has a strict schedule, so she’s asleep. Why?”

“Can I… can I come over?”

Harry wasn’t expecting that. Okay, this was fine. Zayn was going to be inspecting him for some days, this would be a good chance to discuss about the things he would be teaching the students tomorrow. “Sure, um, backdoor?”

“Yeah. I’ll jump over the fence.”

It’s happening. Harry walks downstairs, slow and steady, hoping that Gemma wouldn’t be up for a glass of water right now. When he’s out, Zayn’s already in his yard. He looks a little tired, he’s wearing the jeans and shirt from today’s class. “Hey.” Harry says with a smile. Zayn smiles back at that. “Hey. Sorry for bothering you like this.”

“No, it’s fine. Just be quiet, yeah?”

Zayn nods. They walk inside, walking upstairs, Zayn being as silent as possible. When they reach Harry’s room, it’s almost a victory for them. “So,” Harry starts off, sitting down on his bed. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Just a little tired…”

“Okay.” Harry can’t any words to keep the conversation going. Zayn walks over to his desk and his eyes scan over the art books, the sentences that Harry had highlighted. “You’re taking this seriously.” Zayn says.

“Yeah. Am I not supposed to?”

“No, you are supposed to take it seriously. It’s just, I didn’t think you would.” Zayn’s smiling. The kind of smile Harry likes to see on his face. The kind of smile he didn’t have when he was being photographed with Perrie. The kind of smile he had when he was with Harry.

Harry laughs at himself. He’s thinking too much.

“Have I told you about Jack?”

“No.” Zayn replies, sitting down opposite to him on the bed.

“Jackson and I were neighbours back in Liverpool. Our parents were good friends, and we were of the same age. We became friends quickly. We were joined by the hip, honestly. Everything that we did, we did together. He was my best friend.” Harry starts off, smiling at the memories. “He was a nice guy, too intelligent for his age. He always used big words, he would use metaphors to say what he meant, he expected me to understand but I was too dumb for that.”

“We were fourteen when he left Liverpool and shifted to Canada. I mean, I really fucking hated him for doing that. He didn’t even say goodbye. Then he leaves a note in my room saying that he loves me, and—it fucking hurt. I wasn’t even interested in guys, but Jack fucked up my brain. I couldn’t sleep for days after that. I thought about him all the time, and he gave me his journal too where he wrote how he started liking me. It’s stupid, but I still have it.”

“Can I see it?” Zayn asks. Harry looks hesitant, but nods slowly. He walks over to his desk, goes through his University books before grabbing a shabby brown journal and handing it to Zayn. “I always thought he took down study notes on that. He was a genius.” Harry says when Zayn opens it.

There are doodles, lyrics and things about Harry. Zayn goes through it silently, and Harry watches him. “You didn’t try to contact him when he left?” Zayn asks after a while, going through the last few pages. “I did. So much, he just wouldn’t pick up my calls. He did say that we weren’t meant to be anyways, since I didn’t notice his feelings and he probably won’t be coming back to Liverpool. His parents are kind of homophobic too, so I understand. It’s fine, really. And he was the one, you know, you explained the concept of love to me perfectly.”

“Huh? What did he say?” Zayn asks, handing the journal back to Harry.

“What do you think love is?”

“I don’t know.” Zayn answers quickly. “I think, you spend some time with a person and then you start developing some kind of feelings for them. It’s dangerous, and scary, but the thrill is amazing. I think that’s what you call love.”

“Oh.” Harry mutters. Then he tells Zayn the two things Jackson had told him.

“That’s beautiful.” Zayn smiles.

“Yeah.” Harry replies. “Love is indeed dangerous and scary. I didn’t want to be in love after Jack left. And, after Louis ignored my feelings just like I had ignored Jack. It was all a replay that happens, everything that falls has to break. That’s why I don’t want to fall in love. I’ve been broken three times. It’s too much.”

“Three times?”

“Jack, Louis and…” Harry looks up at Zayn with a smile. “You.”

“Harry, I know I’ve been a real jerk.” Zayn starts off, moving closer and grabbing his hand. “I’ve done loads of things that I shouldn’t have. Maybe if Perrie didn’t push me so much to hang out with the neighbours, maybe if I tried to hold back a bit and maybe if…”

“Maybe if you told her that you are bisexual and you think the guy in the opposite house is kind of cute, she might have stopped you.”

“Maybe if you hadn’t fell right on my dick, things would be different.”

Harry laughed at that. “I was just trying to remove the painting, Zayn. It was awful.”

“The Walters did have an awful taste.”

They were sat in silence for a moment. “Can I just…” Zayn reached forward, so slowly, cupping Harry’s face with his palm and smiling. God, Harry hates that smile. The smile that makes him all fluttery from inside. “Yeah.” Harry whispers back, even though he’s not sure what Zayn’s asking for.

And just like that, Zayn’s pushing him back onto the bed, climbing on top of him and pressing their foreheads together. Harry sighs, closing his eyes and licking his lips before opening them. Zayn had already leaned in to kiss him, and he instantly wrapped his arms around his neck. Zayn moaned into his mouth, their crotches rubbing against each other, Harry gripping relentlessly onto Zayn.

Zayn was the first one to pull back, then kissing down Harry’s neck. “You know,” Harry manages to say between his unstoppable groans. “When I saw you put on those glasses, I died. That was the main reason why I took my phone, googling things that’d make my boner go away. You looked so good in those.”

Zayn laughed into his neck. “You’re crazy.” He whispered before lifting his head and lifting Harry’s t-shirt up to his chest. Harry got up for a moment to pull it off his head before collapsing back on the bed. Zayn took in his body for a moment before his hands were pressed flat on Harry’s stomach. “You’re beautiful.”

Harry closed his eyes. “Not more than you.”

Zayn chuckles, leaning down and licking experimentally on Harry’s right nipple. Harry squirmed underneath him. “No wonder they’re always popping from your shirts.” Zayn says before wrapping his lips around him and sucking. Harry’s hands were tangled in his hair, pushing him down. Zayn let go of his swollen nipple, kissing down his happy trail, biting right above his navel before placing a kiss on it. Harry’s legs were kicking Zayn everywhere, making him groan when Harry almost hit his crotch.

He unzipped Harry’s jeans and with a lot of effort, managed to pull it down along with his briefs. The younger male gasped at the feeling of being so exposed. Zayn grabbed Harry’s shin, pushing his legs apart and just staring at him for a moment. Harry was scared. He was beyond scared. Zayn didn’t know that this was his first time, he definitely thinks Harry does this on a regular basis.

This was a bad idea, maybe.

Zayn leans down and licks right over his hole. He’s pretty sure he gave the most embarrassing squeal at that, but Zayn doesn’t seem to pay any attention to that. “Do you…” Zayn asks, but Harry’s frowning. He had condoms, but his mind definitely didn’t stick for lube. “Condom?” Zayn asks, Harry points to his desk.

Zayn reaches forward, kissing down his neck and brings his fingers to Harry’s mouth. The younger male takes three of his fingers in, sucking experimentally on them. It was finally happening. Harry was thinking too much, worrying too much and Zayn didn’t seem to be too nervous about this. He’s not a restless virgin like Harry.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.” Harry whispers when Zayn takes off his fingers. He chuckles before getting back, sitting near Harry’s legs and taking off his shirt. Harry gets up, taking in all the tattoos in his body and sighing delightfully. He bites right below Zayn’s jawline, licking over the tan skin and kissing down his neck.

Zayn pulls on Harry’s hair; he likes to do that. Harry likes it when he does that.

Harry’s fiddling with Zayn’s zipper while kissing his neck repeatedly, biting wherever he could. He’s quick to shove his hand into Zayn’s boxers and starts jerking him off slowly. Zayn doesn’t keep quiet, and lets out what could be the biggest moan before shushing himself. Harry chuckles into his neck, pressing kisses and telling him that it’s alright.

Zayn was really wet, and Harry suspected that he’d come soon if Harry kept on jerking him off. So, he stops. Zayn lets out a groan when Harry shifts back, then he bends down and licks the pre-come off the head. Zayn gasps, his hands back into Harry’s hair, pushing him down. Harry takes it all, lets Zayn shove it all into his mouth.

When Zayn’s close, he pulls Harry off him. Harry’s back down on the pillows, Zayn’s fingers make their way back into his mouth. He’s breathless, but he sucks on two fingers, trying to get as much saliva as possible onto them. Zayn bites bruises on his neck, making Harry tremble into his fingers. Zayn pulls his fingers back, his middle finger ghosting over Harry’s opening.

He pushes it inside, slowly as Harry’s whole body jerks.

“Harry? Are you okay?” Zayn’s worried. Really worried. Harry nods quickly. “Yeah, just been a while.” He says with a laugh. Zayn smiles at that, continuing to push the finger inside. Harry was sure his body was crumbling, but he held his bottom lip between his teeth and tried to stay quiet. Zayn was whispering how good he was while pressing soft kisses into his neck.

Harry’s fingers were digging into his mattress. This was fine. Zayn started nudging his ring finger inside, and Harry was internally screaming. He managed to push it inside, only a little, and Harry let out a cry. “Babe, it’ll be fine. You’re going to be fine. You’re doing so good,” Zayn presses a kiss behind his ear, nuzzling into his hair. Harry keeps his eyes closed, lets out a groan as Zayn gets two fingers inside of him settled. He had never felt pain like this before, it hurt so much.

Zayn slowly started thrusting his fingers, moving them slowly, looking at Harry who whimpered beneath him. Once he got a grip and Harry’s face softened, he started moving his fingers faster, listening quietly as Harry’s moans filled his room. He added a third finger quickly, without warning, and Harry cried out.

Zayn kissed him quickly, muffling the loud noises that he was making. Harry was numb beneath him, his body moving along with Zayn’s fingers, desperate for action and his face so red that Zayn was afraid that he’d hurt him. “I want it.” Harry whispered when Zayn started thrusting his three fingers in a rhythm that made Harry go weak.

He nodded, taking off his fingers slowly and jerking his own cock slowly. He took a condom from Harry’s desk, hidden in a strange box that he doesn’t try to interrogate about. He positioned himself in front of Harry, kissing him again. Harry’s tongue licked into Zayn’s mouth when he felt Zayn’s cock nudge his opening. Zayn’s hand was around his own, guiding it inside. When Zayn’s head barely made it in, tears were back in Harry’s eyes.

Zayn kept on kissing him, pushing his tongue inside Harry’s mouth as he pushed right into Harry in one thrust. Harry gasped loudly at that, so loud that Zayn had to pull away from their kiss. His eyes were wide open, his mouth open slightly and his breath going slow. “Shit,” Zayn whispers. “Harry. Fuck. Did I…”

“Move.” Harry whispers. “Move.”

Zayn nods, pulling back a bit before thrusting back inside. Harry’s body jerked at that, gripping his sheets and pushing his head back into the pillow. He looked so beautiful with his hair all over the pillow, his face glistening in the moonlight, covered with sweat. His eyes closed and his mouth slightly open. Zayn loved that. He pushed back till his head was the only thing inside Harry before pushing back in.

Harry let out another moan, Zayn loves it. He keeps on thrusting, going fast and slow at certain points, enjoying the moment with Harry, loving the warmth of him. It was amazing, Zayn bit Harry’s neck, sucking a love bite as Harry’s hands tangled into his hair, pulling so hard that he almost yelled. Then Harry let go of his hair, Zayn’s thrusts became faster and Harry’s hands were scratching his back. They were definitely going to make marks.

Zayn’s the first to come inside Harry, gasping as he fills into the condom. He slows down on his thrusts, and his hand wraps around Harry’s cock. He starts jerking him off, slowly then making his pace faster. Harry gasps his name before coming in his hand and over his own chest. They stay like that for a couple of seconds, catching their breath.

Harry helps Zayn get off him, pulling off slowly. “You have condoms.” Zayn mutters. He lies down beside Harry on his bed.

“Yes. Surprise.” Harry scoffs. “I have only two. Now, one.”

“Oh.” Zayn mutters. They stay like that for a couple more minutes, Harry’s hand over Zayn’s, tracing small circles over his fingers.

“Do you…” Harry starts off. “Want to fuck again?”

They do it once again. Harry’s yells his name, scratches down his back and tells him that the two women in his family are deep sleepers, so as long as they weren’t having sex beside them, they weren’t going to wake up. So Zayn doesn’t care how much miserable he makes it for Harry, he fucks into him so fast, Harry’s rushing. He can’t seem to catch his breath; his legs go weak underneath Zayn.

Zayn leaves instantly. “Would be a mess if she wakes up. Yeah?” Harry asks, sounding as nonchalant as possible. Zayn chuckles at that, but doesn’t reply. He kisses Harry goodbye, doesn’t promise anything but tells him that he’ll be quiet. Harry doesn’t walk him out of his house, just nods along when he walks out of his room, waving a goodbye.

Harry lies down on his bed, still from the high, his whole body trembling. His neck is full of bruises that Zayn had bit into his skin, and he doesn’t mind.

Gemma’s eating breakfast while reading the morning newspaper. Harry’s arse hurts. It really does, he can’t sit down properly on his bed. He walks down quietly; his mother wishes him a good morning. He’s working today, the art lessons with Zayn’s students. He has to leave in an hour, and his mother is lecturing him to be good with the kids.

“Hello, Harold. Good morning.” Gemma greets him. “Eggs and toast. Surprise. Sit down.”

“Yeah, I’ll eat in my room.” Harry says, grabbing his plate. But Gemma’s having none of it. “Mom, look. He’s becoming distant with us. Sit down, Harry.”

“No. Gem, come on.”

“What is it, Harry?” Anne sounds a little sad. Harry groans. “Fine.” He mutters. He sits down opposite to Gemma on the table, winces at the pain and closes his eyes.

Anne isn’t paying attention to him, questioning Gemma about her meeting where she is supposed to be in an hour too. But she’s looking right at Harry with the stare that he doesn’t like. When Anne goes back to the kitchen, Gemma sighs. “I went out to get some water last night.” She starts. “Very loud indeed.”

Harry avoids her gaze and continues to eat the bread slowly. “Are you fine with continuing this?” She asks, in a low voice in case mom would listen to them. “None of your business.” Harry replies. She doesn’t say anything, but flips through the pages of the newspaper.

“Sure, Harry. Just don’t let people break your heart.” Then she gets up, grabs her plate and offers him a last look before heading towards her room. “By the way,” She starts off, stopping in middle of the hallway and walking towards him. “Was it good?”

“It was great.”

“Once?”

“Twice.”

“Damn.” She says with a smile before walking back. Harry rolls his eyes, turning back to his breakfast. He needed to be focused for the classes right now. His arse could deal with the pain right now.

Zayn doesn’t talk about last night. They discuss about the part Harry would be finishing off this following week, and Harry doesn’t object when Zayn tells him he’ll be busy after school today so he would have to find a cab back home.

“Nervous?” Cindy asks him. She’s in his year, and she’s supposedly teaching Math to the middle schoolers. The college students are eyeing them and throwing flirty smiles down Cindy’s lane. She’s a pretty girl, so Harry isn’t surprised about that. He keeps to himself and tries to avoid all the older students. “Not really. It’s just art, but if the students don’t like me, I’m out.” Harry replies.

She chuckles, flipping her golden braid from her right to the left. “Joshua is your close friend, right?” She asks. Harry nods and remembers that everybody knows Joshua. He’s a nice guy with loads of contacts. “He did mention you once. Got your heart broken or something like that, but you are really handsome. Your eyes had me stunned.”

He blinks a couple of times. A pretty first year student who didn’t go out with one of the most popular seniors in their class was wooing him right now. He smirks. “Oh, thank you. People usually go on and on about my dimples, though.”

“Dimples, don’t get me started on your dimples.” She’s grinning happily. She’s tall, almost as tall as him with those heels. They were sat down on the bench outside the teacher’s lounge waiting for their respective teachers. “Thank you. You are quite lovely too, I’d say.” Harry looks down at the folder she had been holding. “Do you like Math?”

“Yeah. Of course. That’s why I did take management, accounting and stuff.”

“Oh. Right.” Harry wants to kick himself for asking such a stupid question. Everybody in his year probably liked math. She looked down at his messy, bright blue folder with art papers sticking out and smiled. “I didn’t think you were the one for art.”

“I am not, really.” He says with a laugh. “But this was an easy option, I suppose. The kids are nice.”

“The kids don’t like Math. They really don’t.” She grimaced at the thought of that. “My first day with my teacher, they were sleeping. And when I complained later to Jones, the teacher, about it… she ignored me. Told me to deal with it. What the fuck?”

Harry laughed at that. “Good luck to you, Cindy.”

“Same to you, Harry.” And then her teacher, Jones, was out and she was off. Harry was still there, waiting for Zayn to come out of that bloody room and lead him to his death in the classroom full of students ready to destroy him.

Zayn finally comes out, carrying a folder and just looks at Harry for a moment. “Come on.” He whispers. Harry barely hears him, but gets up and starts following him. The first lecture is with the eighth graders as usual, Zayn tells him to go easy on them, and he’s not sure how he’s supposed to deal with it. The art that he’s supposed to teach them is mostly craft, so he’ll definitely not mess up.

And, he has to give a lecture on human art. He had to study about forty pages of that, and he got quite inspired himself.

When they get in the classroom, the students greet them happily. They know Mr. Malik isn’t going to be teaching today, they know that someone who doesn’t know shit about art is going to be making a fool of himself in front of them. Zayn takes a seat in the back, the students falling silent around him. Harry looks around the desk, the attendance sheets right there and Zayn staring right into his soul.

“Hello everyone.” He starts off with a smile. “My name is Harry Styles. I’m doing management studies from University College of London and I’m going to be teaching you for the next five days. I hope that’ll be alright with you.”

The students look delighted, shouting good things and wishing him luck. He instantly feels better, confidence filling him up as he smiles and grabs the sheets. “Now it’ll be nice if all of you introduce yourselves to me and tell me what you want to be in the future.” He starts off. His eyes trail over the students, landing on the boy on the first bench of the last row. “What’s your name?”

“Mathew.” He answers. “I want to be an artist like Mr. Malik.”

Harry’s eyes shift to Zayn who’s looking at the student with bright eyes and a happy smile. The smile that makes Harry’s heart fucking flutter.

“That’s nice.” Harry replies, his eyes shifting to the girl beside the boy. “What’s your name?”

It goes on for some minutes. He’s got future artists, doctors, singers, soldiers and what not. He feels nice, talking to all of them and he feels like they’re comfortable around him too. “Mr. Styles,” The girl from the first bench calls out to him. Her name is Steph. Harry knows her well because Zayn mentioned her a lot during the conversation about ‘students who just don’t shut up’.

“Yes, Steph?”

She seems delighted that Harry knew her name. “Can we ask you a couple of questions? As it’s the first day.”

“Oh.” His eyes shift to Zayn who just nods. “Sure.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Steph asks with a toothy grin. The class breaks into laughter, Harry chuckling and his eyes are on Zayn again who’s laughing too. “Not yet, Steph.”

She blushes at that before laughing. “Mr. Styles, did you study in this school too?” A boy from the back asks. “No, I was in Liverpool since the day I was born. I shifted here for University.”

“Have you seen any celebrities live?”

“How many tattoos do you have?”

“Do you like quesadilla?”

The questions went on and on. That’s how his first day went. All students kept on asking how he was back in Liverpool, if he had ever done ice-skating and how tall was he. He was pretty glad that he didn’t have to start today. Zayn seemed fine too, so he kept on wasting time with the students. During lunch he sat with Cindy outside the library benches as she told him all about her students and how they didn’t even get the basic math.

“The food in the cafeteria is fucking amazing.” She was trying to say while shoving fries into her mouth. Harry watches her curiously, trying not to laugh. She was doing everything to not show herself as a graceful woman, and Harry did like that. “Sorry, I just really like fries and these are great. No wonder people here are fat.”

Harry laughs at that, eating his own plate of fries quietly. The place that she had chosen for them to have their lunch was nice and quiet. Zayn had asked if he wanted to join him with some Biology teacher, but Cindy broke in the conversation and dragged him apart from the ‘old folks’. Zayn didn’t say anything, so Harry didn’t look back at him.

The day ends fast, and Harry’s checking his pockets for money. He gratefully has enough to get him home. Zayn tells him to be up tomorrow morning at the same time, apologizes again for not being able to drive him today. He had some ‘important’ work to do, so he was going to be home late. ‘Have to see a friend, mate.’ Zayn had told him. Harry didn’t say anything.

But Cindy came in to rescue. She knew where his house was once he told her the address and offered him a ride home in her Honda Civic. They chatted about the upcoming terms and what programs they were looking forward to. “I wonder why you weren’t in the boys’ dorms.” She says. “Money problems?”

“No, we have the money but… I don’t know, mom thinks I’ll be too distant. And it’s fine.”

“Family man. Huh.” She laughs. “That’s cute.”

“Yeah. You’re in the dorms?”

“Oh yes. I have this roommate named Chloe who’s barely there. She’s nice, though.”

Harry hummed at that. He had never heard of Chloe. “If you want I can pick you up tomorrow morning. We can go together.” She had said when they reached right outside his house. He stopped at that, shaking his head. “No, it’s fine. I have a ride, there were just some complications today. And I think you live a little far from here, yeah?”

“Yeah. Takes me about forty minutes to drive home from here, I suppose.”

“Shit. I’m so sorry,” Harry was blabbering. He always does when he gets himself into a bad situation. She definitely found it hilarious. “Hey, it’s fine. Now go, I’ll see you tomorrow. Yeah?” She was smiling. A genuine Cindy smile that made all the boys swoon.

“Definitely. See you.” She drove off. Harry walks back home, thinking about his day today. Zayn smiling, Cindy smiling and the students smiling. Definitely a win.

Zayn’s hands are on Liam’s door, he’s rang the bell thrice and he’s not far from banging on it. But Liam thankfully opens the door with a frown on his face. He’s surprised when he sees Zayn stood there, panting as if he was running. “Zayn?” Liam almost whispers. “What the fuck happened?”

“Is Nakshathra here?”

“No. She went to visit her parents for a while…”

“Great.” Zayn pushes Liam aside and walks into his bloody perfect mansion. It had been a while since they had talked, and Zayn knew that he needed to get the ‘neighbour’ thing out of his mind. The words that Gigi had told him were still circling down his brain. He used to tell Liam everything. Liam helped him get better and Liam was always there. They had been so distant in the past days that Zayn felt awful. He knew something was missing.

“Are you alright? Did something happen?” Liam sounds anxious and scared. Zayn sits down on his sofa with a sigh. “Everything is fine. I’m a fucking mess, though.”

“What happened?” Liam asks, sitting down beside Zayn on the sofa. Zayn faces him and smiles.

“I fucked up again, Liam.”

Zayn tells him everything. From the first time of him meeting Harry in his house, from the moments they had in Brighton to the engagement thing. He wasn’t fine, he wasn’t feeling like he was doing the ‘right’ thing with offering the ring to Perrie and telling her that he wanted this to happen.

“This is what I do, Liam. I fucking cheat.”

“No…wait…”

“I know, it always happens. I’m such a tit.”

“No. Zayn, listen to me.” Liam sounds amused. “Remember when you and Perrie first started dating? Everything was good. Then you had fights, you had so many breaks and you slept with people during that time. Then there was the dude who opened the door to more opportunities, that happened during a break. You thought Perrie was going to leave you. Then there was the time with Gigi which happened again because you and Perrie were going through a time and she broke it off with you.”

“So?”

“You’ve never really cheated willingly. Like, you never cheated on her when there was nothing wrong between you two.”

Now that Liam tells him, he’s thinking. He’s right, he’s definitely right.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Liam was upset. He held his face in his hands before letting out a groan. “You should have told me. You should have told her about the bisexual thing. Maybe then she wouldn’t be willingly pushing you towards Harry.”

“Fuck, I know. But what’s done is done.” Zayn mutters. “What can I do now?”

“What do you want to do? Keep on messing around?”

“No… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“You don’t understand! Harry’s difficult. I can’t keep my mind straight when he’s around.” He snickers. “Perrie wouldn’t shut up about the wedding. That’s all she talks about and it’s starting to get really annoying. We haven’t done it in weeks and I don’t see our relationship going anywhere.”

“Zayn. What the fuck? You got engaged a couple of days ago. And you’re realizing this now?”

“Liam, Harry had walked right onto me telling me that he wanted this for fun. That’s exactly what I had in my mind, so on the other side I was thinking about Perrie too. I’d have my fun, end it when I finally get serious with her. Guess what? Harry basically declared his love for me and we’re still confused around each other. It’s awkward, awful and fucking pathetic. I want to rip my head off.”

“Do you love him too?” Liam asks. “There’s no point in being with Perrie if you don’t like her. But you should remember that she’s the one who stayed by your side when you fucked around. Harry knows that you… cheated. You think that he expects to be happy when you leave Perrie for him? Maybe he will love you too, but there will always be suspicions. He managed to lure you, maybe someone else would be able to do that in the future when you’re with him.”

“You’re supposed to help.” Zayn scoffs. “Not scare me for life.”

“What I’m saying is that,” Liam says. “Is it worth leaving someone whom you stayed with for more than five years for someone you barely know for five months?”

And again, Zayn’s back on the never-ending ride with Perrie and Harry on either side of him. He just can’t do it.

He drives home quietly after his ‘discussion’ with Liam. He’s angry. Definitely angry. He’s blowing up, and he has nobody but himself to blame.

Perrie doesn’t say anything when he tells her that he drove to Liam’s for a ‘bro talk’. She prepares Chicken for him, asks him how the ‘teaching’ is going on with Harry Styles. He chuckles and tells her that the students love him, talks and talks until he notices Perrie staring at him with a smile. “What?” He asks. She chuckles. “Never seen you talk this much. It’s nice.”

“Oh.” He whispers, gulping the water in his glass when she takes his plates away. He definitely needs to control his smile when he talks about Harry, but he can’t stop smiling when he thinks about Harry fiddling with his words while chatting up to a classroom of middle schoolers who love him despite of that.

Summer Term isn’t his favourite. He’s on his bed, Perrie’s already asleep. She complained about her whole body hurting due to the excessive exercises in her yoga class when Zayn placed his arm around her waist. He scoffed, shifting away and she apologized about that. He doesn’t know what’s happening, but the relationship is definitely not working. From both sides. It just makes his head go crazy.

He takes his phone and goes through his notification. Of course Gigi had sent him a message through Instagram.

OfficialGigi: it’s my birthday tomorrow!!

OfficialGigi: I’m coming there!! I’m going to meet Harry and steal him from you!

Zayn chokes on air.

ZaynMalik: what? Why are you coming here?

OfficialGigi: woohoo zed replies! I’m actually going to be there because of a meeting with my PA but it’s my birthday too so I’m going to be having this private party at ‘Café de Paris’ and Harry’s invited. Wait, I’m going to send him a message through Insta

ZaynMalik: why are you doing this?

OfficialGigi: he’s cute and you’re engaged. I’m single and he’s single. Don’t be greedy J

ZaynMalik: fuck you, he won’t come.

She doesn’t reply for a while. Then she sends him a photo. A screenshot of her with Harry.

OfficialGigi: Hello Harry Styles. I’m Zayn’s friend and you must know about me by that. And maybe from the telly. Anyways, it’s my birthday tomorrow and you’re definitely invited! It’s at Café de Paris and you’re on the guest list! You have a plus one. Can you send me the photos of the people who are going to be your plus one? The security is going to be pretty tight. Looking forward to meeting you!

Harry_Styles: wait. this is the official Gigi

Harry_Styles: I’m really invited?!

OfficialGigi: yes! There’s going to be some celebrities there so you really shouldn’t miss it. And I’m looking forward to meeting you. I’ll send you an email of the invitation, so can you tell me your id?

Harry tells her everything. The screenshots tell everything.

OfficialGigi: you better come too. you have a plus one too. bring Perrie!

ZaynMalik: no thank you

OfficialGigi: okay but bring Liam. I reallllly want to meet him! Please. Think about it, no fucking around. Bring Perrie or Liam. Idc if you come or nah, Harry’s going to be there.

Zayn doesn’t reply to that. He buries his head into his pillow and groans.

Harry takes Josh as his plus one. Joshua and Roger don’t complain because they’re completely against Gigi Hadid for reasons that Harry doesn’t want to know about. Josh kisses Harry’s cheek about a million times, telling him that this was just the start of his love story with supermodel Gigi Hadid who was going to fall for his charms.

The next day, Zayn thinks about the ‘party’. Harry walks into the classroom with him, the students greet them like any other day. Zayn takes his usual seat in the back and Harry starts off with the attendance.

He starts off with the lecture on Human Faces, and how they’re constructed. He couldn’t draw one himself, but he did his best to sound like a professional. He leans behind the teacher’s desk, his hands on the table and looks at the students. “So, why do you have the need to draw a person’s face?” He asks. Steph raises her hand. “Because we appreciate their beauty.”

“Exactly.” Harry replies with a smile. That’s what the author had stated in the book he had been reading, so it had to be true. He’s about to go on, but Steph has more to say. “Mr. Malik drew you, that means he must appreciate your beauty. Is that right?”

Harry doesn’t know what to say. He looks at Zayn who’s busy glaring at Steph. “You answered you question, Steph. Now we’ll move on to the…uh,”

“Human body, sir.”

“Exactly. Thanks, Ronald.” Harry mutters. The students are giggling, and Zayn’s giving his swooning smile. Harry wants the earth to swallow him right there. The lectures go on for a long time. He didn’t see Cindy today. Zayn told him that she wasn’t in school according to the Math teacher. He just nodded. He doesn’t know her well enough; she might have called it a day. Maybe she didn’t care.

During lunch, he asks Zayn if he could join him.

“Sure.” Zayn replies with a smile, grabbing his stupid black bag and Harry follows him around with his own messenger bag swinging by his shoulder. They walk upstairs to the second floor, stopping near a door titled as the ‘Art Store Room’. Harry almost scoffs at that. Zayn opens the door with his key and walks in. The room is bright, filled with different painting and sculptures that Harry had never seen before.

“Are the paintings yours?” Harry asks, his eyes stopping at a pretty sketch of a lake.

“No. Sixth form students mainly. Couple of middle schoolers too, I guess.” Zayn sits down at the bench on the side which gave a clear view from the window. It was bright, and Harry tried not to walk onto the dried paint boxes lying on the floor. “Why are we here? I thought you sat with that Biology teacher.” Harry asks, sitting down right beside Zayn who didn’t think too much about the lack of personal space between them.

“Usually. But I come here when I need to think, or when I’m not in a mood to listen to her go on about her devil kids.”

Harry chuckles. He steals the food that Zayn brings from his own house. “Oh my, I can taste Perrie’s love in this.” He’s trying not to laugh while saying that. Zayn doesn’t find that funny, hitting him lightly with his elbow. “Please, do have more of her love.” Zayn pushes his lunch towards Harry who takes it happily. The food is great, and he had to admit that. He’s always liked people who could prepare a good ham and cheese sandwich.

“So… Gigi.”

“It’s her birthday today.” Zayn says with a grin. “She’s 23 now.”

“You’re keeping up with her age?”

“She’s the same age as me so, I guess.”

“Oh. Right.” Harry feels stupid. “So, you’re going to the party too. Right?”

“Yeah. I’m taking Liam. I don’t think Perrie will be delighted.” Zayn lies. Liam might come, but he could end up taking no-one with him. He hadn’t even discussed about this ‘thing’ with Liam yet. He’d probably tell Zayn that his life has royally fucked up.

“I’m taking Josh. He loves Gigi, he thinks this could be the start of his epic love story with her.” Zayn laughs at that. They chat up about how they will be going there, Zayn making up something that included him going to Liam’s and picking him up since he’s paranoid and stuff. Harry starts off, saying that he’ll be down at the Uni since Josh lives close enough all on his own, watching him panic over what could possibly get him laid.

“Why did she invite me?” Harry finds himself asking Zayn who doesn’t want to answer that. “Uh, she’s weird like that. Saw you with me, thought you were hot, invited you. That’s her.”

“Nice.” Harry laughs. Zayn sighs.

After school, Zayn drops Harry home and drives off to Liam’s. He still has to make something up with Perrie, so he calls her, tells her that he’ll be staying over at Liam’s because they’re discussing some important things about his wedding in Italy. She buys that, tells him to eat properly and get enough sleep. He couldn’t hate himself more if he tries.

“What the fuck, Zayn?”

“It’s just a party.”

“A party that will be splashed on magazines. And newspapers.”

“We’ll not have paparazzi all over us. We’re not celebrities!”

“Fine. But I don’t have anything to wear.” Liam complains. He does seem a little excited when Zayn told him the party is down at Café de Paris. They stalk her a bit on the internet, trying to find out the people who were going to attend the party down here, and there were loads of celebrities arriving. “Shit, I wish I could be happy but I don’t think I should be. I’m engaged.”

“Um.”

“You’re engaged too. Why are you happy? Oh wait. Yeah.”

“You’re not making me feel any better, love.” Zayn scoffs. Liam smiles at that, pulling him into a headlock and telling him how much he missed this. Nakshathra being down the country with her parents did make him feel really lonely. Zayn keeps that in mind. They stop bickering, trying to get their shit together and Liam tries not to feel bad about not telling Perrie about this.

“This party never happened. Okay?”

“Okay.” Liam mutters. “Still wrong.”

“We’ll just catch up with her. Try getting pictures with celebrities. Have free drinks and leave before we get into trouble.” Zayn assures him. Liam nods along before grinning. “This reminds me of our days at the Uni. Mate, I really do miss sneaking off the dorms and going to the parties. Used to be such a thrill.”

“Yeah, I know.” Zayn smiles at the memory. His hands glued to a mic, Luke going crazy with the guitar and Ashton banging on the drums. The crowd loved them. He used to get paid for doing those live covers at the parties. The students loved him. He loved performing, he loved singing for them. But hobbies were hobbies, work was work.

Maybe if he had concentrated enough on that, tried not to laugh when Luke asked him if he wanted to come to Australia to actually work on the music, he might be there with the duo. Maybe they could have been the next big thing. He doesn’t regret his art; he’s been drawing since he was three. But he had been singing too. He shrugs off the thoughts, and looks at Liam.

“Have you sorted things out with Harry?” Liam asks out of the blue when he’s styling his hair. Zayn just watches him, tries not to scoff at the wardrobe Liam had offered. “Uh, we’re cool.” Zayn replies. Liam nods, doesn’t question him further and he’s glad.

“You said our clothes don’t matter?”

“Wearing Saint Laurent won’t hurt anybody’s feelings.” Liam scoffs. “And you look nice. Be happy.”

“I am happy.” Zayn replies with a smile. Liam graciously let him have a white shirt which looked very nice, since it was from freaking Saint Laurent, and he kept on the black jeans he was wearing. He uses a gracious amount of hairspray from Liam, setting his quiff. Liam’s wearing a black button down shirt which he says is from Burberry. Then again, Liam was quite rich. Zayn tries not to be surprised.

“If Harry wears those stupid sheers again…”

“He wore sheer?”

“Yes. God.” Zayn closed his eyes for a moment as Liam drove. He was too tired to drive, and it was about eleven. The party had started about an hour ago, and they didn’t want to make a scene while getting in. The last thing he wanted was his and Liam’s face on a magazine as ‘mysterious’ appearances at the party.

The club is lit up from outside. The security looks pretty tight. Liam looks nervous as he walks behind Zayn. They’re stopped by a man right outside the entrance, eyeing them suspiciously. He checks the guest book, and Zayn finds his picture. Beside his picture is a picture of Perrie and Liam. “Right. Go on in.” The man says, finally letting him pass through.

“She took those pictures from our year book. She did that on purpose.” Zayn scoffs. Liam is laughing, and holding Zayn’s wrist. “This place is fucking amazing.”

It indeed was. EDM was playing when they walked in, there were way too many people in there. Zayn tried to look around, hoping to find some of his favourite celebrities in there. This was a good chance. “Hey, I’ll call you when I need to go.” Liam says, letting go of his wrist. Zayn’s nervous. “Where are you going?”

“Adam Lambert is right there; I’m definitely going to get a picture.” Liam is glowing when he finishes his sentence. Zayn scoffs in response, and then he’s gone.

Zayn walks upstairs and of course he’s greeted by more guards. “You’re allowed only if your name is on the list. So, what’s your name, mate?” The guard is friendly. Not like the one outside who was ready to throw them out before they even got in. “Uh, is Gigi…”

“Yeah she’s in.” The guard says, flashing his pearly whites. “Gorgeous lady. Now, your name?”

He takes down a book similar to the guard outside. “Zayn Malik.” He mutters.

“Yeah. Go on in.” The guard says. “On her specials. Good one, mate. Are you a singer?”

“No, I’m just one of her friends from Uni.” Zayn replies with a smile. The guard nods and lets him pass. The area is full of celebrities. He’s nervous as he walks around, groups of popstars sat on the couches chatting amongst each other. Some even acknowledging him and whispering. He feels weird, but then he spots her. She’s surrounded by a group of girls and guys, they’re all taking pictures.

She’s dressed in such a tiny sparkly dress which can slip off her body if she shrugged. She’s quick to notice him, immediately getting up and excusing herself. She hops towards him in her expensive heels and pulls him into a hug he didn’t ask for. He tries to be professional, hugs her back and whispers ‘Happy Birthday’.

“I know we had a ‘we won’t see each other’ policy but whatever. You’re engaged, and that changes a lot. So friend, who did you bring? Liam I suppose. Where is Liam?”

“Uh, he’s down. He’s currently trying to get pictures with Adam Lambert, I guess.”

“Nice.” She laughs. “Where’s my gift?”

“Oh, I didn’t…”

“I’m kidding! You came, that’s nice. Remember back in our third year, Thomas threw a party here? Best night of my life.” She says. “I really miss the Uni days. Except for the time I got expelled. And when Perrie called me the devil.”

“She called you that?”

“Oh yes. In front of all the girls in our sorority. Broke me.” She sighs, smiling at a girl who passes through them. “Anyways, are you having fun? I saw Harry. He’s so nice, his friend is super nice too. I think they’re down. I introduced him to Cara, Kendall and Taylor. He seems to be getting along with them.”

“Why would you do that?” Zayn scoffs. “Are you trying to get him laid?”

“I am helping my friends get laid, Zayn. You should help yourself too. If you want, you can join them. They’re by the bar I think.” She says, turning back to the couch where the people were waiting for them. “So? Are you going to be joining them or should I take your picture to post it on the gram later?”

“I’m going.” Zayn mutters, not risking his life. She laughs, patting his back before rushing back to her ‘friends’. He walks out, passing a smile to the friendly guard. He gets a glimpse on Liam in a deep conversation with Adam Lambert. He chuckles to himself, and walks towards the bar. He quickly spots Josh, chatting up to Taylor on the side. His eyes widened. Gigi literally meant Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner and Cara Delevingne.

He walks towards the bar, offering a smile to Josh when he smiles at him. Harry on the other hand is deeply immersed in a conversation with Kendall Jenner and Cara seems to be listening quietly. Then Kendall’s hands are on his thighs and she’s saying something, looking down at him. He looks down too, before looking back into her eyes and laughing.

Zayn feels sick. He walks closer to the bar, orders a pint for himself. The bartender grins, asks him for a picture. “Sorry, not a celebrity.” He apologizes. The bartender seems disappointed, but gets him a pint anyways. Harry is quick to notice him. Stupid Harry wearing stupid sheers getting stupid girls all over him. Zayn thinks with a scoff, taking in the beer.

“Zayn?” Harry almost whispers. He looks right into his eyes and grins. “Hi. What is this, Harry? I can see your tits through this.”

“I don’t have tits.”

“He does seem to have a glorious pair.” Kendall jumped in. She looks at Zayn with a smile. “Hello, what’s your name?”

“Hi Kendall.” Zayn greets her with a matching smile. “I’m Zayn.”

“No way. You’re Zayn?” She checks him out shamelessly. “Gigi did mention you being drop dead gorgeous. But said you were in love with a guy.”

“Oh yeah. Definitely.” Zayn mutters. Harry’s confused, but doesn’t say anything. “And then, Harry, another gorgeous guy, he’s in love with a guy too. What’s up with gorgeous people being gay?” Kendall complains.

“About time you try something new too, love.” Cara says with a smirk. Kendall pulls her tongue out before excusing herself and rushing upstairs with Cara. Harry and Zayn were left alone, together. Again.

“Hi.” Harry says. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

“Uh, yeah, I was a bit late. Liam is stupid.” Zayn blames it all on Liam like always with a proud smile. Harry laughs, nodding along. The music changes, there’s some people dancing by the pole. Zayn snorts when he sees Gigi dancing around, in her tiny dress, not afraid of anything. “You know; she was always like this. She was never afraid of being herself. I loved her for that.”

Harry looks at Zayn who continues. “I met her right here. It was a mate’s party, and she was dancing. Just like that. Maybe in cheaper clothes. Then I saw her, she saw me, shit happened. But she was this… tornado. She came around, wrecked me and left. But I think I was too stupid, I kind of liked her. Perrie had broken up with me and then she came around. I thought it was fate, you get me? But it’s all just stupid.”

Kendall joined Gigi on the pole, they laugh and dance around each other. People cheer along, taking videos and snapchatting happily. “You liked her.” Harry says. Zayn smiles. “Yeah. Of course. I did, once. But it was all over in a matter of seconds.”

“So, is it true?”

“What is true?”

“That you love a guy?” Zayn asks. “Someone from the university?”

“Yes. We’re planning on having kids someday.” Harry scoffs. “I don’t even care anymore, Zayn. You know that I’m still letting you do anything to me if you want to. Because I love you. You’re amazing.”

“You’re drunk.”

“I haven’t had a sip of alcohol.” Harry mutters. “You’re drunk, actually.”

“I am.” Zayn says, his eyes back on Gigi before landing on Harry. “Why… why is this happening?”

 

“Maybe you should have thought this through.” Harry tells him. Zayn’s shaking his head, holding it in his hands and sighing deeply. “I was supposed to be happy with Perrie. She gets me.”

“Does she?”

“Yes.” Zayn fought back. “She…”

“She let you off when you cheated. I’m just saying that if I was in love with someone and they were in love with me, and if we were in a relationship… I would make them pay for doing that to me. But she’s too nice, she lets you off too easy. It’s not fair to her. Or to you. You don’t see it? Your relationship is unhealthier than ours. And ours is non-existent.”

Zayn sucks in a breath and glances at Harry. “You know nothing good is going to happen if you keep on saying that you love me. You know how confused I am and…”

“Shut up for once, Zayn.” Harry says, shifting closer to Zayn who flinches. “Stop acting like a baby. This isn’t as complicated as you’re making it out to be. Don’t be naïve when it comes to stuff like this. You want sex? You got it. You want more? Take me. Fucking take me.”

“Fine.” Zayn scoffs, finishing his pint. He grabs Harry’s hand, dragging him through the crowd. He finds Liam on the corner, talking to Tori Kelly with a smile on his face. “Liam. Keys.” He says. Liam is surprised, but doesn’t say anything when he looks at Harry who’s staring down. “Not my bedroom, Zayn.” Liam protests. Zayn rolls his eyes and walks out with Harry following silently.

His hold tight on Harry and only lets him go when they’re getting in the car. Harry is silent. “How long does it take?” He asks.

“Thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes?!”

“Yes.” Zayn replies with a sigh. Harry turns on the radio, smiles when he hears a certain song. Zayn doesn’t know what song it is, but he listens carefully. He had enough tonight with Harry eating his brain and telling him to fuck him. He was definitely going to do that. Definitely.

‘All we do is drive,  
All we do is think about the feelings that we hide,  
All we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign,  
Sick and full of pride  
All we do is drive.’

Harry stares out of the window the whole ride. When they stop by Liam’s house, Zayn’s quick to get off. Harry follows shortly, taking in Liam’s mansion with a grunt. Zayn’s hands are back on his and there’s no reason to hold hands right now, but he doesn’t complain at the warm feeling. Zayn lets go of his hand to unlock the door.

Once they’re inside, Zayn tells him to keep his shoes on the side, and follow him inside. Harry follows his instructions. They walk into a tidy room which looked like it hadn’t been used in a while. Harry barely got to take in the interior of the room when Zayn’s lips were pressed against his neck. Harry groaned at the sudden thrill, gripping onto Zayn’s hair and collapsing right below him on the bed.

Zayn sat on his lap, taking off his shirt carefully. He couldn’t risk Liam’s Saint Laurent getting damaged right now. Harry watches him with steady eyes. When the shirt is off Harry’s hands are on Zayn’s chest going through all the tattoos with a happy sigh leaving his lips. Zayn looks right into his eyes at that moment, and they just knew that it was alright.

They kiss slowly, not like the other times when they were scared, wondering if somebody would find them here. They had all the time in the world right now, and Harry was Zayn’s for the moment.

Harry’s breath hitches for a moment when Zayn pulls off. His hands are on either side of the bed, holding onto the mattress and his eyes staring at the ceiling. Zayn’s just looking at him for a while, and he doesn’t say anything in defence.

Zayn rolls to the other side and sighs. Harry is confused. He sits up, looks over at Zayn who has his knees pressed to his chest and his face buried in his arms. “Zayn?” Harry almost whispers, his hand reaching out and his fingers tangling themselves in Zayn’s soft hair. “Sorry. I just… I don’t know.” Zayn’s voice is a little muffled since he wasn’t ready to look at Harry.

“Um, do you not want to…”

“No, shush.” Zayn cuts him off, looking up at him. “Come here.”

Harry crawls closer to him, and Zayn invites him into his arms. “I just don’t understand why…” Zayn starts off, his thumb and index finger holding Harry’s chin up, making him look directly into his eyes. “Why would someone like you want someone like me?”

Harry smiles at that. “I am quite stupid.”

Zayn laughs at that. He places a light kiss over Harry’s lips before pulling away, their lips almost touching. “I can’t believe how beautiful you are.”

Harry tries not to smile or blush at that.

They sleep in that bed with their bodies pressed against each other. Zayn is the first to fall asleep, and Harry’s eyes are wide open wondering how long could he keep doing this and pretending that he didn’t care if Zayn went back to Perrie tomorrow.

“Wake up, fucking wake up!”

Harry manages to open his eyes, followed by a groan. Zayn’s face is pressed against the back of his neck, and he can see Liam staring at him. “Uh,” He mutters, getting up and looking at his watch. “Fucking hell, Zayn! Get up! We have only fifteen minutes, get up!!” He’s shaking Zayn’s shoulder violently. Zayn wakes up in a moment, glaring at him.

They manage to change into some of Liam’s clothes. Liam is a nice guy and he offers Harry some breakfast before they head off to school. They don’t talk on their way to school. Zayn puts on some country music in the car and Harry checks his phone. Gigi’s Instagram is full of party pictures, and he hopes he wasn’t in any of those. He did get a selfie with her because, hello, she was a celebrity. And his mum liked her.

He had told his parents about the party. He did lie that Josh is friends with her that’s why he got to go, which seemed better than telling them about Zayn’s University dilemma. And that he was sleeping with the neighbour.

“Zayn.” He whispers. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what, Harry?” Zayn asks while checking the parking lot for empty spaces. They were indeed late. “It’s just… Josh is stupid.” Harry mutters, handing his phone to Zayn. “He doesn’t know about Gigi and you so he thought it was harmless.”

There’s a picture Josh had uploaded on his Instagram. Gigi’s arm was around Harry’s neck and she was grinning widely with Josh on her other side. He had tagged Harry and Gigi in the picture, and Perrie had recently liked that picture.

“Fuck me.” Zayn whispers. “It’s nothing. I’ll just tell her that Josh knew Gigi.”

“That’s easy but,” Harry catches up with him as they walk through the hallway. “Liam stayed. You know that, right? And Josh took a picture with Liam too. Captioned it something like ‘New mates’ and shit like that. Perrie liked that too.”

“I think I should stay with Liam for some days.” Zayn tries to make a joke out of it but he knows he’s going to get it when he comes back home. The first lecture is with sixth graders who don’t seem to be listening to him, but it’s okay because he can’t concentrate on much either. Zayn’s eyes are fixed to his papers and he doesn’t spare a glance at Harry.

They sit with Michelle, the biology teacher, for lunch. She asks Harry about his Uni life and how was his college back in Liverpool, and he answers brightly. Zayn eats his sandwich carefully, staring into space. Michelle jokes about him always being in ‘another world’ and it’s not even news anymore. Harry chuckles at that, lets out that he’s Zayn’s neighbour and she asks him another billion questions.

Other than that, she’s nice and she talks a lot about her husband. Her kids are cute but they act like little devils. Cindy catches up to Harry after break when Zayn’s busy with something in the teacher’s lounge. “What are you waiting for? I can drop you off.” She offers him with a smile when she notices him sat outside. He looks up at her with an apologetic smile. “No thank you, I have a ride. By the way, why weren’t you there yesterday?”

“Okay. It’s alright with me.” She says with a grin. “I was just having this problem with my ex. She’s like, crazy.”

“She?”

“Oh yes. News flash. Cindy likes boys and girls.” She chuckles.

Harry smiles up at her, promising to meet her tomorrow for their last lecture. These had been some fun days and he would definitely miss the eighth graders. They were the liveliest batch and they actually listened to him when he tried explaining something.

Zayn walks out with his bag, looking up at Harry with a nod. They walk outside in silence. The students chatting around them, glancing at them and smiling. Some waving goodbyes and some winking at Harry. He just grinned back in response. He had never got such a treatment back in Liverpool. Girls did show their interest sometimes, and he did like guys staring up at him, but he had never gotten anybody flirting with him like that.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Zayn tells him when they stop by his house. “I’m sorry.” Harry replies. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have come. I should have told Josh not to post any pictures. This is all on me.”

“No, fuck that.” Zayn mutters with a smile. “It was bound to happen. I can’t keep lying now, yeah? I’ll clear it off with her. You should go and get some sleep.”

“See you.” Harry’s about to open the car door, but then he stops and looks back at Zayn. It was like the older male already knew what he wanted when he leaned forward and kissed him. They pulled back after a minute, smiling at each other as he got out. He looks at Zayn’s house which seemed calm and quiet for now, but he was scared. Perrie was definitely going to blow up at Zayn.

Zayn parks his car around the corner, pulling the hem of Liam’s white t-shirt which was a little big on him. He rings the doorbell and Perrie’s quick to open it. “You didn’t pick up my calls.” She starts off. “I was worried.”

“Yeah, I got up late and I was in school…”

“You were at Jelena’s birthday party?”

“Perrie…”

“Liam was there too?”

“You should listen to me, I didn’t…”

“And Harry. What is this? Are you hooking up with her again? And Harry knew about this? Liam knew?”

“No. I am not hooking up with Jelena.” Zayn scoffs. “She was being friendly. She told me to bring you along but it would have been awkward. So I took Liam…”

“I can’t believe you.” Perrie’s messy bun is falling apart but she’s angry. Her face is red and her Hello Kitty t-shirt is wrinkled. “After everything… you go to her birthday party. And you don’t tell me. And you even take our neighbour.”

Neighbour.

“I’m sorry. But nothing happened, I promise.” Zayn whispers. Perrie chuckles, sitting down on the couch and gripping her phone tightly. “Do you remember Patrick, Zayn?” She asks. Zayn walks towards her with his arms crossed over his chest. “No?” Zayn replies. He can’t remember anybody with that name.

“He was the guy you fooled around with. During our third year or something, I guess. Your year of sleeping around.” She laughs at that. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were bisexual. Do you remember that I even asked you once? During our last year? Just as a question and you laughed at me. Is it funny now?”

“I…” Zayn couldn’t find any words to say. Why would she bring out that topic now?

“I can’t…” She covers her mouth with her palm for a moment. Zayn would hug her, but she could slap him. So he stays where he is and listens with his eyes closed. “You know what you did, don’t you?” She whispers. “You slept with Harry. Our neighbour. I can’t believe I didn’t see it, I can’t…”

“How did you know?” Zayn finds himself asking.

“I happened to call Liam before you came in. Saw the picture of him with Harry’s friend on Instagram. He broke down when I told him I knew what you were doing and I wasn’t happy. Then he started going off about how you didn’t mean to start fooling around with Harry.” She’s smiling, but it’s definitely not a happy one. “I was stunned. I didn’t say a word to him when he revealed that. He probably got the hint that I had no clue, so he dropped the call. Can’t say much, Liam and you were always tight.”

“Perrie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Zayn says, placing his hand on her shoulder only for her to slap it away. “Don’t touch me. I can’t believe you continued to fuck around after proposing to me. Do you love him, Zayn?” She asks without looking up at him. Zayn continues to look at her. He doesn’t know that. He can’t say anything.

“Tell me, Zayn. Do you love Harry?” Perrie asks, looking right into his eyes. Her blue eyes have lost their glow and her lips are trembling. He can’t believe he did something like that to her. “I…I don’t know.” Zayn whispers.

Perrie looks down at her lap before grabbing her head with both of her hands. “We got engaged, like, a week ago. You cunt, we got engaged and this is what I hear from you? You’re so arrogant, I do everything for you and this is what I fucking get. You give me a ring and fuck off with the young lad living beside us.”

“Fuck Perrie. You didn’t give me a chance. You kept on pushing me onto these stupid little charades and you invited them with us, did you have to do that? And you kept on telling me to hang out with him and…”

“I told you to hang out with him! Not fuck him!” She’s yelling now with tears streaming down her face. “I don’t even make you smile anymore, Zayn. What the fuck happened? Did I ever make you smile? I don’t think so. During University days, it was Liam who would make you laugh. Then your band members, then it was your friend Michelle with her kid jokes. I was just there, listening to you laugh about someone who made you laugh. It looks like I’ve been forcing you to be with me. Why did you propose if this isn’t what you wanted?”

“I did love you, Perrie. I don’t know. You kept going on about the wedding, and you pressurized me into the engagement. It was either get you a ring or let you leave me. I couldn’t let you leave me.”

“And you expect me to stay with you happily while you have little secret dates with the neighbour’s boy?” Perrie questions. “Guess what, Zayn? This isn’t what I want. Now that I think about this, the time that you two got lost during Easter hunt, the holiday that you two spent in a room together in Brighton and now him hanging out in school…I can’t. And his room is the one opposite to the art room. No wonder you don’t let me go in there.”

Zayn stays silent. She gets up then, walking upstairs. His breath hitches and he walks behind her. “Where are you going?” He asks. “Art room. Let me see what’s so important in there.” She mutters.

“Fuck, you don’t have to…” He can’t let her go in. He can’t let her see what he’s been trying to lock away himself. But she’s unstoppable. She yanks open the door and walks in. The photos from their trip to Brighton are everywhere. Her eyes scanned over each photo before looking up at the on-going sketch on his canvas. The one he was making which included Harry, Gemma and Anne. Her hands went over the paper before they went over the pictures. She wasn’t saying anything. Zayn stood near the door, waiting for her to rip off something.

“You look so happy.” She barely manages to say through the tears streaming down her face and hiccups making their way through her mouth. “So fucking happy in comparison to your pictures with me.”

“I am happy with you too, Perrie. But those pictures were taken in the morning and I was grumpy,”

“Don’t lie.” She says. “I can tell when I see someone in love and look at this, the way you’re looking at him… something that I wanted Harry to capture with his camera. But how could he capture something that didn’t exist?”

“Perrie.” He says. He doesn’t want to admit this, but he had promised this to Harry. “What Harry and I have is purely…sexual. No feelings. I was just in… lust with a young man. But you’re you. And I love you. That’s why I took the ring and…”

“No.” She cuts him off. He looks hurt, but then she walks closer to him. “I’ll think for some time. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Leaving? Where are you going?” He asks.

“Somewhere. I will see you soon. In a week, I think.” She whispers with a smile in her teary face. Zayn nods and lets her walk past him. He looks at the pictures, Perrie left them where they were without damaging anything. “The painting in Harry’s room is beautiful, Zayn.” She says before closing the door to her and Zayn’s room.

He’s confused. He walks towards his window and looks right at Harry’s house.

He smiles at that. Harry had put up the painting right above his bed so Zayn could see it clearly. The one Zayn had drawn for his class.

Harry’s sat on the couch, staring at Gemma who’s typing down in her laptop. Anne’s ordering some flowers through her phone and some soap opera is playing on the television. He can’t stop thinking about Zayn and what kind of a mess he would be in right now.

Gemma squeals at his picture with Gigi, so does Anne and they cry for a bit. Later that night when Anne’s asleep and Gemma’s working on her article, he tells her about the thing Zayn had with Gigi back in University and how he was personally invited by her.

“That’s fucking amazing.” She says with a grin. “Gigi seems like a cool person. Can’t believe Zayn had her way with her back then.”

“He really liked her. But she wanted fun, you know? Perrie had broken up with Zayn and she was there for him. But then Perrie came back, everything was a mess and she got expelled. It was horrible.” He mutters. “And Perrie found out Zayn went to the party. She’ll think he hooked up with her again.”

“Poor lad.” Gemma says. “And how’s things between you two?”

“Fine.”

“Still fucking?”

“Gem.”

“Okay.” She chuckles. “Louis is coming over tomorrow.”

“God. Doesn’t he have anything else to do?” Harry mutters. Gemma scoffs at that, kicking his shoulder lightly with her foot. He rolls his eyes. That night when he goes to bed, he looks over the window and notices something in Zayn’s room. A lava lamp was lit and a canvas was facing the window. There was a single sentence written boldly enough for Harry to understand.

‘She knows about us.’

He takes a deep breath before lying down on his bed and pulling his phone. He sends a text to Zayn.

H: Read it. Are you okay? How is she?

He waits, but Zayn doesn’t text him back that night. So he falls asleep, knowing that it’ll be fine because he’ll be seeing Zayn tomorrow for school.

“Why can’t I have something spicy and hot?” Safaa complains with a frown stuck on her face. Patricia scoffs at that, before a smile creeps on her face. “Because we’re not having a party and you’re sick. Finish your tomato soup or Baba will make you drink it.”

She grumbles for a moment before nodding and starts sipping on it slowly. The Originals was up on the television. She had to miss college today because she had been down with high fever and Patricia decided to pamper her. Patricia sits down beside her daughter on the sofa, wraps the sheets around her feet, placing it on the table. “I am the sick one.” Safaa protests when her mother decides to have a share in the warm sheets.

“Yes, and I am the one who gave birth to you.” She replies with a smile. The doorbell goes off, and they’re both groaning. “I’ll take it.” Yaser comes to rescue, rushing to the door.

He opens the door, hoping it was the plumber but is surprised when he’s met with Zayn’s face. “Dad? You don’t have work today?” He asks. Yaser is surprised, but lets him come in. “Why are you here? Don’t you have work? And no, I got a holiday due to some repairs going down. Somebody almost died when a computer blew in their face.”

“Oh.” Zayn replies, walking inside with his messenger bag. “I… I made some mistakes and I wanted to talk to mom about it.”

“Okay.” Yaser says with a smile. “She’s right there.”

“Hi mom.” Zayn says when he walks towards the sofa. He is surprised to see Safaa there. “Don’t you have school?”

“I do, but I’m sick. Don’t you have school?” She asks with a grin.

“Zayn! What are you doing here?” Patricia is on her feel, hugging the life out of her boy. He hugs her back with a smile. “So, how is the fiancée?” She asks when his chin is pressed to her shoulder. His smile fades away at that. Safaa is quick to notice that.

All of Perrie’s words from last night come back to him. How she disappeared in the morning before he could open his eyes. All that she left was a note. ‘See you in a week, Zayn.’

Tears start streaming down his face as he hugs her closer. She’s surprised when she feels the wet drops on her shoulder. Safaa sits up straight, looking at her brother. Yaser is there, watching them curiously. “I have so much to tell you.” He whispers.

Harry’s angry. Liam messaged him this morning informing him that Zayn had gone home and Perrie had gone somewhere else. He took a taxi to Greenberg high, gave his last lecture to the students who seemed quite upset when their other Art teacher, Jason Carlos walked in with Harry. Jason was a nice guy, he looked down at the results Zayn had given him for the last classes, added his own marks and gave the sheets to Harry. His overall performance was ‘Very Good’. The highest was ‘Excellent’, but he could live with this.

“What happened?” Gemma asks him when he’s glaring at the television screen. His mother was watching the Great British Bake Off. “What?” He mutters, looking at her.

“Nothing, you’ve been gloomy all day long. It’s weird since you’re always disgustingly happy.” She says with a grin. Anne laughs at that. “Maybe because our neighbours aren’t around. He’s got a liking to them, yeah love?”

Gemma pretends to choke at that. Harry gives his mother a polite smile. “Nothing like that. Just the thought of Uni tomorrow makes me sleepy.”

“Well, you better not be sleepy since your exams are coming up.” She reminds him with another smile before turning back to the television. Josh had asked to meet up but he was too tired for that. He was angry at him too, but Josh didn’t know about the mess he was currently in. Maybe if he knew, maybe if Harry was careful enough Zayn wouldn’t have left. He doesn’t know where Zayn is, he had tried texting and calling, only to be returned with nothing.

No replies to his messages and his phone turned off.

“Hey, can I have a seat?” Perrie looks up from her book to find a young man smiling up at her. His chestnut coloured hair stood up in a quiff, blue eyes shining brightly at her. She nods, before turning back to her book. She doesn’t look up at him, knowing that he had asked to sit down with her because all the other tables were taken by couples and students across town.

Her mother had been blowing up her phone, so was Zayn but she doesn’t pick up their calls. She sends all of them the same message. ‘I need some space. I’m fine.’

She thinks about Zayn and their first date. The only time he had actually laughed at one of her jokes. Their first week together was fine until she heard Zayn yelling at Liam for dragging him into this mess. Zayn never really did break her heart intentionally, every time he was with someone else, it was because she had said one thing or the other.

But she couldn’t believe that Zayn was with a University boy, even when she thought they were happy and had a bright future together. Everything that Zayn had told Liam about dragging him into ‘this relationship shit’ was coming back to her. She wanted to cry, rip off the book she was reading about cleansing one’s mind and throw it out of the window. Maybe burn it. Shoot it.

“Are you okay?” The guy asks her. She looks up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Your hands are trembling. It’s not cold either.” He continues, his eyes stuck to her hands and the book she was holding.

“Pretty ring.” He continues. She gasps at that, putting her book down and looking down at her ring. She had forgot about this, the shiny diamond still making her fingers look pretty. Perrie yanked it off and shoved it in her messenger bag. The guy was stumped at that, but doesn’t say anything. He gets himself a cappuccino and drinks quietly.

She took the first train she could get into. She had never been in Liverpool before. The people here seemed a little different, and she got into the first cheap hotel she could cry into. At least she was away with Zayn and his lying arse.

“Are you okay?” The guy asks her again. She grunts in response. He stays silent once again, sipping on his cappuccino and his eyes are stuck to his phone. She looks at him for a moment, shoving her book inside her messenger bag and placing her hands on the table. “The ring was given to me by the one that I loved the most. The guy who I thought was the one for me.” She says. He’s looking at her.

“What did he do?” He asks.

“What he always does. He cheated on me.”

“Huh? Always?” The guy seems amused. He smiles then. “You should have left him the first time he cheated, then.”

“It’s not easy.” Perrie protested. She had heard that one far too many times from her friends. Even from Liam. “He’s really sweet. But it’s so hard to understand him. I thought I knew him but…”

“How long have you two been together?”

“Uh, five years I think. More than five years.” She says with a small smile. “And it’s so stupid that I don’t know him after this long.”

The guy nods slowly, staring into space before looking at her. “Are you from here?” He asks. She shakes her head. “Nope. London. I just left when I realized he had been cheating on me… with a guy. He didn’t even tell me that he was interested in guys. I—I asked him. But he laughed at me.”

“It’s easy to say when a guy likes another guy and when a girl likes another girl.” The guy says, his voice calm and soothing. “Mostly meeting a new person, even when you’re with someone for a long time… and the new person just gets you better than the other one. I mean, you feel more connected to them. And I’m saying that it happens to everyone, but… um, similar cases I’d say, it happens to them. Have you experienced this?”

Perrie thinks. That night in Brighton, when she was walking through the beach and the mysterious guy who grinned at her and told her she was too beautiful to be walking all alone. She smiles involuntarily at the memory, her smile instantly fading thinking about the last time Zayn had said something like that to her. Everything with Zayn was rushed. Kisses would be in a hurry, sex would be over before she could wrap her head around it and Zayn would be gone before she could reach out to hold him close.

She does remember loving that thrill during University, but as she got a job and her friends started having kids, everything had changed. She wanted Zayn to pause for a moment and let it in, but he would never listen to her. And she would let him do what he wanted.

“You probably have.” The guy’s voice breaks her from the miserable thoughts. “All that I’m saying that, I don’t know you. I don’t know him. But the guy really isn’t worth the pain, he could be drop dead gorgeous or hell ugly, but if he’s done something like this to you, you should leave him. Forever.”

“Yeah. I should.” She whispers. The guy nods at her with a grin. “Good. And, the guy that your ex-fiancé was cheating with, he must be an idiot. Mostly the ones are. If he couldn’t be happy with you, how could he be happy with him?”

“No.” Perrie mutters. “There’s something between them. At first I thought of a brother kind of thing, but Harry seems to understand him. I mean, I tried to get to know Zayn but he just doesn’t open up to me. I want to talk it out, but looking at him makes me cry. Thinking about him and Harry makes me lose my mind.”

“So, Zayn is your ex? And Harry is the one he’s fooling around with?” The guy asks. Perrie nods. “We’re neighbours. Harry shifted in recently with his family, I thought it would be good to make acquaintance. We soon became good friends. His sister Gemma is nice; I wonder if she knew about this. I don’t think she did, we are friends. She should have stopped Harry.”

“Oh. Um,” The guy looks a little confused. “Take a holiday. Helps best, I tell you.”

“I will.” She replies. Zayn never had time for a holiday abroad. She’d go without him. “Are you some kind of a relationship expert?”

The guy laughs at that. “Oh no. I’m far from that. I’m just a student.”

Perrie grins. “Thank you, I’ll try it out.”

“Where do you live?”

“London.”

“No—like. Your address.”

“Um,” Perrie starts off before nodding. “I’m moving out, maybe knock some sense into Zayn. Write it down, you might forget it.”

He chuckles, taking his phone and typing down her address. “Good. I’ll knock some sense onto Zayn. Yeah?”

“You better.” She replies with a laugh.

Safaa is sipping her tea quietly, watching Zayn intently as he goes through his phone. He’s been trying to call Perrie for the past hour but she wouldn’t pick up his calls. The phone would keep on ringing. He decided to send a message to Harry, just in case. He’s surprised when he instantly gets a reply.

H: When are you coming back? What’s going to happen now? Did you tell them why Perrie broke up with you?

Z: I don’t know. I think I’ll be back soon. Can’t skip work too much, or they’ll kick me out. I didn’t tell them exactly why Perrie broke up with me, but I did tell them we just didn’t get each other. Mom’s upset though, she really liked Perrie. So did Dad. I don’t know what’s going to happen now. Perrie won’t pick up my calls. So, how’s Uni?

H: I’m sorry. I messed up your life. Uni has kept me busy these days. You know the girl Cindy? The one who had been doing math in your school for a week just like I was doing art? She turns out to be super intelligent and she’s been helping me a lot. Can’t believe she’s still single, super-hot. And nice, ahem.

Zayn stares at the message for a moment. He then remembers that Harry wasn’t his boyfriend, he was just his neighbour who he had a good time with. That’s what Harry would be thinking too. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling anything for the boy either. Thinking about him with the pretty girl made him grumpy.

Z: yeah, cool. You guys dating? She’s nice, yeah?

Harry’s seen the message. He doesn’t start typing like he usually does. Zayn regrets asking that, but soon he sees Harry typing and sighs.

H: No? She’s nice but

Z: but?

H: you

Zayn smiles a little at that. This teenager was making him lose his mind and he was letting him.

Z: me?

H: yeah, you’re my friend. Yeah? You’re going through all this trouble and it’s hard to keep my mind on someone else. Let’s sort you out and get you back together with Perrie. I’ll talk to her if I have to… or will she kill me?

Harry wants to slap himself for sending that. But he knew that Zayn had gone back home just because he missed Perrie and wanted her back. He obviously visited his parents so that they could help him with her. And here he was, thinking that they could actually be a ‘thing’ now that Perrie was supposedly out of the picture.

Jesse had warned him about this. He was the one who broke Zayn, and he would be the one to fix this even if he didn’t want to.

“So, what’s up with you and Josh?” Joshua asks him, making him look up from his phone, right at his friend. They were currently in Roger and Joshua’s dorm, waiting for the other two to show up with food. “What do you mean?” Harry mutters.

“Like, you two have been joined by the hip.” Joshua says with a laugh. “What secrets are you keeping from us?”

He was right. Josh was the one who knew about the shit he had been going through with Zayn and was completely reasonable about the whole situation. He’d tell him to stop thinking too much about Zayn for the time being and continue with his studies. Zayn would come around, but his exams would definitely come around faster.

“We’re not shagging.” Harry replies. Joshua rolls his eyes at that. “Of course you’re not. You’re not his type. And, Josh would tell me if he was shagging you. But something else is the matter, and that’s keeping you away from the wonders of math.”

“Definitely. I was thinking about…” He fumbles with the words, just when Roger and Josh walk into the room with bags of food. Joshua looks impressed. “I thought we were here to study. Not for a party.” Harry complains.

“Shut up, Harry. Nobody complains about food.” Josh says with a grin, sitting down beside him on his bed. “Zayn texted you?” He whispers.

“Yeah,” Harry replies, showing him his phone. “He wants to get back with her and I said I’ll help.”

“And that’s how Harry Styles walked straight into lava with a smile.” Josh says with a grin. “Why are you killing yourself like that? It’s annoying. Just straight-up ask him for once and if he says he wants her back then go on a date with Cindy. She likes you, we all know that. And, if he says that he likes you, what’s the problem? He’s already yours.”

“This is what I was talking about.” Joshua yells. “You two are in your own world. Again!”

Roger continues to eat the pepperoni pizza, not bothered by the conversation.

“Joshua, my love.” Josh starts off with a polite smile. “We were talking about the wonders of gay sex. Would you like to hear it too?”

Roger chokes on his pizza slice, steals the bottle of water Joshua was holding and then starts laughing. Joshua groans, rolling his eyes and then shaking his head. Josh smiles in victory, turning back to Harry.

“Don’t make this shit hard for him, and for you.” He says before they start discussing about the exam dates. Harry takes that note mentally.

Liam’s listening to Nakshathra ramble about Perrie and Zayn. He knew that she was going to blow up in his face about this, telling him that he shouldn’t have pretended that Zayn cheating on Perrie again was no big deal. “Can’t believe you told me one of your friends knew Gigi personally.” She starts off with a frown. Liam chuckles at that. “Well, where’s the lie? Zayn does know Jelena personally.”

She glares at him, making him turn his gaze down. Nakshathra’s about to say something when their doorbell goes off. Liam sighs, getting up from the couch and opening the door. There was the delivery guy staring at him, a parcel held out and a paper for him to sign. “Hey, it’s from Perrie.” Liam says, while signing and handing the paper back to him.

He closes the door and hands the neatly packed box to Nakshathra. She opens it up quickly, and there’s a note inside along with a tiny wooden box. Liam remembers Perrie carrying that box around sometimes, she kept mints in that. Did she send us mints? Liam thinks as he takes the note. Nakshathra starts reading the note.

When he opens the wooden box, he’s not met with mints. He takes the ring and holds it out. Her engagement ring.

“She told us to give it back to Zayn.” Nakshathra says. “She’s in Liverpool. And, she seems really upset at you for not telling her about this.”

Liam takes the note when Nakshathra holds it out for him.

_Hi Liam. Say hello to Nakshathra if she’s around. I don’t know if I can attend your wedding in Italy, but I’ll try my best. Do email me a card when you’re done with it, yeah? And stop calling me, I’m in Liverpool. Just trying to have some time apart from friends and family… I’ll call you when I figure things out._

_I can’t believe you turned a blind eye on Harry and Zayn. You know what had happened and yet you let it go on? I don’t blame you. We were close, but not as much as you and Zayn. Bros stick together, yeah? But I just wanted to let Nakshathra know that she’s very lucky to have someone like you. Liam, you’re one of the best guys that I’ve ever met and I can’t wait to see you both on your wedding day!_

_And I’m over it. I had seen it coming, once or twice. During University I did wonder why Zayn would come back after everything. You told him to come back to me. It was never willingly. I hate to admit it but I didn’t mind as long as he was with me. Willingly or not._

_Um, maybe because Zayn was SO GORGEOUS and I tried my best not to think about the ‘other girls’. I’m so stupid. Maybe if you see Harry some time, tell him that I’m not angry at him. I don’t know what’s going to happen between the two of them but whatever it is, good luck to him. Because falling for Zayn is easy, getting yourself back together when he leaves it the hardest thing ever._

_Can’t wait to see you guys. Here’s a picture of me with a six-year-old girl who gave me free skittles._

Liam chuckles at the attached picture. It was a selfie of Perrie eating skittles with a little girl, both of them smiling widely at the camera. He reads the letter once again, a feeling of regret hitting him when he realizes he had hurt her all along. “What about Zayn?” Nakshathra asks. Liam looks up at her with a smile. “He’s fine. He’ll be back tomorrow, I suppose. He’s home.”

“I thought his flight was cancelled and he had yet another week to arrive.” Harry complains when he notices Louis sat on the couch, kissing the life out of Gemma. She pulls back to look at Harry with a grin. “He got his private jet to get him here. For me.”

“Of course.” Harry smiles, walking into the kitchen to see Anne singing around to an Elvis Presley song while heating water. “I could hear them kissing from my room.” He complains with a scoff, grabbing an orange from the fruit basket.

She laughs at that. “Oh come on. Lou’s been a gentleman. And, he’s been longing to talk to you too.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you go ask him?”

Harry just nods, walking out to see Louis and Gemma talking about some game. He needed to study for his exams too, and he needs to be in a lecture by 11 am and it’s almost nine. Zayn had been gone for too long and he wonders if he’s home yet. They’ve stopped texting and Harry still thinks about the advice Josh had given him.

He talks to Cindy sometimes. She’s nice and she helps him keep his mind off Zayn.

Gemma gets up from her place, fiddling with Harry’s hair before walking into the kitchen. He groans, sitting down beside Louis and glaring at him. “I do feel comfortable when I’m welcomed with kisses and glares.” Louis says with a grin. “So used to that, Harry.”

“Sorry.” Harry mutters.

“So, I happened to have met someone on my way here.” Louis starts off. “And that person wants you to come over after your lectures at Uni.”

“Zayn?” Harry whispers.

“Yeah. He was coming back home, I suppose. He had a messenger bag and he got out of a cab. Rushed off to work then, making sure to remind me again before I entered here.” Louis says before smirking up at him. “So, him and Perrie are done. What does that mean for you?”

“Nothing.” Harry replies coldly while getting up. “I was just a good time and they’re getting back together.” He spits before rushing back upstairs. Louis just watches him go before rolling his eyes and chuckling. “People pining against each other and not hooking up makes my head ache.”

Harry thinks about Zayn during his lectures. It’s annoying, and he’s supposed to listen right now. Exams are heading closer and he needs to take down the points, but he’s afraid what’s going to happen when he steps into his house. Would Zayn not like him anymore? Was he hating on him? Would Perrie be there?

After the classes are done, Harry turns down the boys’ offer to hang out at the dorms for free food, drinks and for studies, of course. “Maybe tomorrow. I have something to do.” Harry tells them. Roger groans and walks off with Joshua. Josh is walking behind them; Harry grabs his arm. “Zayn’s back home and he wants to meet me.” He mutters. Josh’s eyes are wide at that. “Good for you. If you don’t sort it out, then it’s time to let it go. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Harry replies, letting go of his arm with a smile.

He’s been staring at Zayn’s door for a minute. He takes a deep breath before ringing the doorbell and waiting. He hopes that his mother doesn’t catch him out here, that’d be bad for sure. She still doesn’t know that he was the one who broke Zayn and Perrie up. If she knew, she’d ship him off somewhere. Maybe to dad if she could.

Zayn opens the door quickly, stepping back to let him in. Harry notices the bags under his eyes, he’s wearing a black t-shirt and track pants. He looks tired.

“Hi. Sorry, were you asleep?” Harry asks, gripping his messenger bag and looking around the house. Perrie didn’t seem to be there. It was five in the evening, and Zayn could have been taking a nice nap.

“Oh, no. I was just…” Zayn looks around the house before looking back at him. “Doing nothing. Yeah.” He laughs.

Harry smiles at that. “Uh, so, how did your family react?” He asks, making himself comfortable on the sofa. Zayn sits down on the couch opposite to him, and the distance between them made Harry’s heart ache. “Not good. They weren’t expecting this. I told you, yeah? But they told me to figure things out and be happy. Concentrate on work and stuff.”

“Okay. And what about this house?” Harry asks.

“Uh,” Zayn starts off. “Perrie’s brother called me a moment ago. He’s going to be coming over tomorrow to take her stuff.”

Harry nods. “Do you know where she is?”

“No, I don’t.” Zayn mutters. “But she needs space and I’m fine with that. I just wanted to apologize to her for fucking up again.”

“How are you planning on getting her back?” Harry asks dumbly, wondering how Zayn would respond to that.

Zayn smiles at that, looking down at the carpet. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that.” He says. “She would kill me if I even tried to. And I’m done with this. We weren’t right for each other; I didn’t deserve someone like her. I hope she’s happy, wherever she is.”

“So, you’ve broke it off with her?”

“Obviously. She broke it off with me.” Zayn says. Harry’s phone goes off, making him jump. He apologizes, looks down at the caller id. It was Cindy. “Um, it’ll be a moment.” He tells Zayn who just nods.

“Hello Styles!” She greets with her usual enthusiasm. “Didn’t see you with your boys today. Where are you?”

“I had some work at home, I’ll be there tomorrow.” Harry tells her. “Good. Since we’re having our study leave, I was wondering if you were up for a cup of coffee? Just us at Stephen’s Café? It’s right outside our building if you noticed.” She adds a nervous laugh.

“Uh, coffee?” He hesitates, looking up at Zayn who was still staring at the carpet. “Yeah, that’s cool with me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Just coffee. It didn’t mean anything.

“Sweet.” She says before hanging up. Zayn looks up at him. “Cindy?” He asks.

“Yeah. She’s a nice friend. I told you.” He emphasizes on the word friend. Zayn’s just nodding to that.

“I—I wanted to say that I was sorry.” Zayn says. “It wasn’t right of me to take advantage of someone like you. I was unhappy with my relationship and I didn’t realize that until now. Thank you, though. You’re a good friend and I hope we can continue that. And you did say that you thought of me as a friend and that was good enough for me.”

Stop. Please stop. Harry’s chanting in his mind.

“We might have said things; we might have said things that we didn’t mean.”

Stop.

“I just wanted to let you know that what I had with you was one of the best things ever, no wonder it was cheating from my side but it was nice to have you. As whatever that was.”

Harry’s biting his lower lip to stop saying anything stupid.

“You’re a good guy and I think it’ll be nice to meet Cindy sometime. I need to see the girl who’s been keeping you happy.”

She’s not you.

“That was really it. You can go home, I’m sorry for disturbing you. I know you have your exams coming up and you need to study and stuff, I’m really sorry.” Zayn stops talking after that. Harry nods, getting up and heading for the door without saying a word. He walks out without saying goodbye.

He rushes to his own house, opening the door which was already unlocked for him. He closes it behind up, and Louis is looking right at him. “Are you okay? Why are you crying?” He whispers and kind of yells too. Harry’s hand reaches up to his face to see tears are streaming down his face. He covers his mouth and runs upstairs.

“Was that Harry?” Anne asks, walking out of the kitchen with her hands covered in mud as she was planting a rose plant in a pot. Louis looks at her with a nod. “Seemed tired. Should let him sleep.”

“I know. Exams get him all nervous.” She says with a laugh before walking back in. Louis sighs, turning back to the television wondering what could have possibly happened between the two of them. He thinks for a moment, the sound of Lady Gaga playing in the background as he takes his phone and sends a text to Zayn.

L: Are you up for a smoke?

Z: yeah I need someone to talk to if you’re up for listening

L: yeah mate

He puts down his phone and sighs.

Louis and Zayn had a good chat during their time in Brighton. They shared a lot of things, Gemma told Zayn that Louis was completely wild in Uni. Perrie had to laugh and tell them that Zayn was crazy back then too. They had shared numbers, but never really texted until now. Zayn knew that Gemma and Louis had found out about his ‘good times’ with Harry. Louis simply stated that he could see it all over his face.

Zayn’s sat on a bean bag placed in his backyard, starring at the night sky. There weren’t any stars visible to him right now. There was a thick garden surrounding his and Harry’s backyard, and the people who lived right opposite to them had bought both the houses and were keen on their plants. They had huge trees right in front so they couldn’t peep into their houses. Zayn knows that a white family lives there with three kids who are all in Greenberg. And those kids don’t like him much.

Louis jumps over the fence, walking towards Zayn and settling down on the bean bag opposite to him. He hands him a cigarette, passing a lighter along after lighting one up for himself. “I’ve heard Harry grumble about how rich you are.” Zayn says after a moment of silence between them. Louis laughs at that. “Of course you have. Harry tells everyone that. Won’t be surprised if they come rob me someday.”

Zayn smirks, shaking his head. “He really likes you though. Keeps telling me that Gemma’s always all over you, and it’s annoying how much Anne likes you too. And the fact that he doesn’t care that he had a tiny crush on you, or as he puts it, delusional one-sided love.”

“Yeah. I had no idea he liked me like that. I’m always clingy as shit, and I think that was new to him. And I never had an eye for guys, so maybe I did turn a blind eye unexpectedly. But when I realized how much he was hurting when I started dating Gemma, it hit me hard. His sister is really fucking cool, mate. She made me talk to him about this and told me she would break up with me if it was too hard for him. But he told her he didn’t mind, just because he knew I was crazy for her.”

“He’s nice.”

“He is.” Louis replies. “And, what’s up with you? What happened when you told your family about your breakup?”

“Not good.” Zayn mutters. “I wanted to tell them that I cheated, they might get to know that from Perrie’s mum. That woman was waiting for this moment, I tell you.”

“First things first, Zayn.” Louis says. “What are you planning on doing with Harry now? It’s pretty clear that he’s in love with you.”

“In love?” Zayn mutters. “I’m sure that he’s not. He might have said some things he didn’t mean. Look, maybe he didn’t know what he was saying. He might have had a strong kind of feeling for me but he’s moving on. He told me today that he took me as a friend. Nothing else.”

“Maybe he said that because you told him something else.” Louis starts off. “He came home crying just moments ago. He didn’t even know that he was crying until I asked him what the matter was. What the fuck is happening?”

Zayn frowns at that. “He was crying?”

“Yes. Harry’s quite emotional, I tell you.” Louis mutters. “But none of that, what are you going to do about him? Is this what it’s coming to?”

Zayn’s fingers are gripping his phone tightly. Everything was coming back to him. From the moment he met Harry, when he started thinking he might want to sleep with Perrie to them ending up in an unhealthy relationship. The moment they had during Easter Hunt and the holiday in Brighton. When Harry told him about Jack, the guy who fucked up his life and his best friend, to when Zayn told him about Jelena.

“Okay. I’m just going to meet up with him tomorrow, and tell him how I feel.” Zayn declares with a small smile. Louis grins at that. “Thank you. It’ll be nice to see Harry popping those dimples again.”

The next day, Zayn sends a single text to Harry during lunch break.

Z: Meet me today at 5?

Harry is quick to reply.

H: Sure. You can come to my house, I’m home right now. Didn’t feel like going to the dorms, they don’t let me study anyways. Lol.

Zayn’s smiling at that text. He does wonder what did Harry do about the plans that he had with Cindy for ‘coffee’. He concentrates on his work, doesn’t flinch when Michelle asks him about Perrie. “We just weren’t meant to be, Michelle. Let it go. I don’t even know where she is.” Zayn whispers. Perrie’s brother had come in early morning to take all of her stuff. He didn’t say anything to Zayn about breaking Perrie’s heart.

He does wonder if Perrie told her family why they had broken up. If she had, maybe her brother wouldn’t have been so calm about the situation. He’s on his way home, thinking about how he would confess his feelings for Harry.

He loved that boy. He was sure of that. Seeing Harry smile inspired him so much, he could draw him all day long. Harry was so beautiful, and he always made sure not to hurt people by his words. He had been broken so many times, and Zayn was on the list too, he wants to change that. He wants to prove to Harry that he was worthy. He wouldn’t break him up.

Gemma’s staring at her mother with her mouth wide open. “What? I thought you were going to be happy. They were nice people, yeah?” Anne asks, leaning closer to Gemma and making her shut her mouth with a frown. “Yeah, how about we keep this a secret from Harry? He’d be delighted if he saw them without notice.” She replies with a forced grin.

“Fine by me. Harry will be so delighted. I should start preparing something sweet for them!” Anne announced, getting up from the dining table and hopping off to the kitchen. Gemma stares at the rose plant on the table, which had bloomed quite well and they were planning on exporting it to the flower shops close by who love their plants.

“I cannot believe this shit.” Louis slams his fist against the table before apologizing to Anne who almost had a heart attack at the sound of it. “Harry does not deserve to be treated like this. Zayn is supposed to confess to him today.”

“I don’t know, Lou.” Gemma whispers. “This is going to hit him pretty hard. I don’t know why they’re showing up now.”

Zayn rings the bell to the household. Gemma is the one to open the door, and she’s smiling happily when she sees him. That’s rare for Zayn. “Good, come on in!” She says, pulling his arm and closing the door behind him. He’s surprised, but then he sees Harry sat on the couch, eating an orange and watching the television. He’s quick to turn his head and look at him. “Hey.” He says.

“How about you go up, yeah?” Louis tells them. Harry’s confused at that, so is Zayn. Before they could go up, Anne is rushing to them. “Hello Zayn! So nice to see you. Here, have some of this blueberry pie that I had been saving. Tell me how it is.” She pushes a spoon at his mouth. He smiles before letting her feed it to him.

“It’s nice. An occasion?” He asks curiously. Anne grins and nods. “Something like that. Very special, especially for Harry.”

“What?” Harry’s never been so confused. “What’s happening?”

“You should go upstairs.” Louis mutters. Gemma is about to tell them to go up, but it’s too late and the doorbell goes off again. Louis gasps at that, looking at Gemma who closes her eyes in defeat. “I’m sorry.” She whispers to Zayn. He’s surprised, not knowing what to say when Anne proceeds to open the door.

“What’s happening?” Harry whispers to Louis. He looks at Harry before looking at the door. “Sorry, mate.”

Anne is greeting the people enthusiastically. “Oh Marie, you look younger. How is that possible?” She says with a laugh. The blonde laughs at that, hugging her tightly. The man beside her is pulling Gemma for a small hug and telling her she certainly grew up to look like her mother. “Harry! Look at you! How tall have you become!” Marie lunges herself at the surprised boy who lets her hug him.

“Mrs. Griffiths.” He almost whispers. She pulls back with a laugh, nodding along. “Yes dear, you remember! I thought you would have forgotten. I do look a bit dashing now, don’t I?” Harry chuckles at that. His eyes land back at Mr. Will Griffiths who looked the same as before. Then behind him stood Jack. Smiling at Anne like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t left without a note.

Zayn was staring at the three, not knowing what to do. He felt awkward. But Gemma was by his side, making him feel a little more useful.

“That’s Jack.” She finally whispers. Zayn looks at the guy again, the one with the chestnut hair, gorgeous blue eyes and addictive smile. He was as tall as him, well built and quite handsome. “Oh.” Zayn replies.

“Hi Harry.” Jack finally approaches him with a smile, checking him out. “Puberty did you well. Yeah?” he adds a laugh to it. Harry doesn’t think that it’s funny. Jack’s smile fades away too, but Anne’s telling them all to get comfortable on the sofa.

“We didn’t tell Harry about your arrival. Wanted to make it bit of a surprise for him.” Anne tells them as they all laugh. “Who those confused handsome blokes?” Marie asks, looking at Louis and Zayn.

“Louis here,” Anne places a hand on Louis’ shoulder. “Is Gemma’s boyfriend.”

“Oh, lovely!” Marie says with a smile, her eyes landing on Zayn. “And this is Zayn. He’s our neighbour, and he’s a lovely lad. He’s quite close to us.” Anne introduces Zayn with a smile. Marie nods at that.

Jack on the other hand is looking at Zayn with an amused smile. Harry’s watching him, and he doesn’t like that.

“Um, I should go, I think. It’s rude for me to be interrupting you guys.” Zayn finally says with an awkward small laugh. Anne stops him when he’s heading for the door. “Come on, don’t be like that. Have tea with us. You liked the pie, didn’t you?”

“If you insist.” He replies.

Marie and Will ask Harry about his University. They tell him that Jack skipped his first year because he was just that lazy, and they had come back to Liverpool trying to get him somewhere. They say that Jack insisted on finding his childhood best friend and going to the same Uni as him. Harry tries to smile through that, but he’s trying not to tear up in front of all these people.

“I think Jack should catch up with Harry for a bit. Yeah?” Marie suggests with a friendly smile. “He’s going to be joining UCL too. Harry’s going to be his senior though, that’s something new.” She adds with a laugh.

“Uh, yeah sure, I’ll show you my room.” Harry says with a friendly smile. Jack seems happy at that, getting up and following Harry upstairs. Zayn watches them disappear, and doesn’t miss the glance Jack gives him. It’s like he knows something it up between them. “My luck is just amazing, Louis.” Zayn whispers to the bored boy beside him. Marie and Will are asking Gemma about her workplace.

“Bro, I feel terrible.” Louis mutters. “I don’t know; Jack seems pretty but he just pisses me off. By the way, look, Jack is here. So are we. The guys Harry Styles is totally done with. That’s hilarious.”

Zayn chuckles for a bit. “I wanted to tell him how I felt and this shit happens. His first actual love shows up. I thought you were going to be tough to beat, but this shit head shows up.”

“Possessive. I like it.” Louis looks up at the stairs. “I wonder what they’re doing. I wonder if Jack slammed Harry against a wall and told him how much he missed him since they’ve been apart for about four years now.”

“Excuse me, I would like to delete that picture from my brain.” Zayn whispers back, trying hard not to run up there and see what’s going on.

Harry’s heart is beating fast. Jackson, his childhood best friend who confessed to him before leaving him forever was back. And he looked better than ever, and he was totally calm about the whole situation.

“I guess you didn’t go out with Angie after all.” Jack says when they enter his room. Harry frowns at that. “What?” He mutters. Jack is looking around his room, his eyes on the art books and the painting on the top of his bed.

“Wow. Who did that?” He asks, looking at the bright picture. Harry smiles at that. “Zayn.”

“Oh. Your neighbour.” Jack then sits down beside him on his bed. “Did you read my journal?”

“Yes.” Harry replies. “I…”

“What?”

“I don’t understand.” Harry grunts. “How dare you tell me that you loved me and then leave me just like that? I was fucking hurt, Jack. Maybe I was the straight bloke but things might have changed if you had told me how you felt. Your stupid riddles weren’t going to do anything. Don’t you understand? You fucked me up. I was a loner in college because of you. I don’t even know how I gave my A-levels. Why did you show up again? What’s wrong with you?”

Jackson smiles at that. “I’m happy that you thought about me after I left. I thought you’d be creeped out after my confession. But it’s nice to finally know that you might have had some feelings for me too.”

“I did. Maybe. What you wrote was beautiful.” Harry whispers. “But it doesn’t matter now. I don’t get you.”

“I always wanted to start Uni back here. I told my parents about this when I started high school in Canada. They agreed.” Jack tells him. “I wanted to see you, I wanted to call but I had switched my number. I would creep into your social medias but you changed them. It was harder to find you and I gave up. But then I came back to Liverpool and searched for you. I couldn’t find you. Mom found Anne’s number just when I found out your address through an interesting person.”

“What?”

“Zayn. Your neighbour, yeah? He’s quite fucked up, I’d say.” Jack says, looking at him. “You don’t deserve to be treated like this. You should be with someone who would treat you like you were the only one that mattered. Someone who you could call only yours. Why were you with Zayn? I don’t remember you being something like that.”

“How do you know all of this?” Harry asks.

“I met a girl.” He says. “She was sad. Her fiancé was cheating on her. She had to get away, I encouraged her with my words and she gave me her address to knock some sense onto him. She mentioned your name and Gemma’s name, so I thought it could be you. The chances were a little low, but when Mom got your address from Anne, I was surprised.”

“People change.” Harry whispers. A lot of things had happened when Jack left. He met a lot of people, saw a lot of things and met Jesse.

“Yes, but…” Jack was getting closer, and he was getting more uncomfortable. “Now that we’ll see each other a lot, what are we going to do about it?”

“You’re going to be living in London now?” Harry asks, shifting away. Jack leans back and smiles. “No, my parents are buying our Liverpool house back. I’m going to be living in the dorms when I get into UCL.”

“Okay. Maybe we can be friends.” Harry replies. He looks up at Jack. “And I wanted to thank you… for your words on love. The two things that you had told me. I felt those.”

“You remember those?” He asks with a smile. Harry nods at that. “How can I forget? Genius Jackson Griffiths tells you something, you remember it.”

“I came back here, hoping that maybe if we could try going out.” Jack suggests. “I was so surprised when I saw you. You grew your hair our, you’re tall as hell and you have tattoos. I was surprised. You changed a lot, and you look great. Always did.”

“Thank you.” Harry replies. “But we should never think about going out.”

“What?” Jack’s astonished.

“You are important Jack, you made me realize what love was and I think we should continue to be friends. And what happened to your family? You wrote in your journal that they thought gay was a sin.”

“They changed. People in our neighbourhood in Canada made them change their minds.”

“That’s nice.” Harry replies.

“Yeah.” Jack sounds a little off. “Zayn is no good for you. He cheats and he— “

“Who are you to judge Zayn?” Harry cuts him off. “You don’t know him. You don’t know me. Don’t pretend to say big things if you don’t know what a person has gone through. Listen Jack, I like you and I’m glad that you’re back but Zayn… don’t say anything about Zayn.”

“I… okay. Fine.” Jack mutters, getting up from the bed and heading to the door. “Don’t be surprised if he leaves you someday.”

Harry doesn’t say anything. Jack leaves him alone in the room and he stares out of the window, right into Zayn’s art room.

When Harry walks downstairs, he can hear everybody cackling near the dining table while eating pie. He quietly takes a seat beside Zayn, the only vacant one and smiles when Gemma hands him a plate with a piece of pie in it. “So, everything good?” Marie asks Harry. He looks up at her with a raised eyebrow. “Oh,” She continues. “Just that Jack told us he didn’t tell you he was leaving back then. I told him you’d be angry to lose a best friend like that, but he didn’t listen to me. And he told me you were pretty angry with him.”

“Uh, it’s fine. We’re going to be going to the same University, so we’ll get along. What’s your major going to be?” Harry’s eyes shift from Marie to Jack who’s seated between his parents. “Well, I’m planning on doing Fine Art.” He replies with a smile.

“That’s nice.” Harry mutters, proceeding to eat his pie. Zayn’s quiet beside him, focusing on the food and not bothering to look up at the people seated with him. Louis was being interrogated by Will about his work, Gemma was asking Jack about his high school life in Canada, and Anne was talking to Marie about her hair highlights.

“So,” Zayn whispers down to him. “How’s everything with Jackson?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Harry whispers back.

“Aren’t you going for a cup of coffee with Cindy today?”

“No.” Harry replies. “Told her wasn’t feeling it. She said she had a bit of a problem with her ex again, so yeah. It’s nothing, really. She’s a good friend.”

Zayn nods.

The Griffiths have to leave soon. “Did you exchange numbers?” Marie asks Harry with a huge smile on her face. He looks at Jack who’s looking right at him. “Oh come on boys, you have a lot to catch up on. Jack, give him your number!” She encourages her son, pushing him closer to Harry. He doesn’t remember Marie being like that.

Harry and Jack forcefully share numbers, and then they’re gone. Louis groans and sits down on the sofa, Gemma joins him. “I should go now.” Zayn tells Anne who’s cleaning the table. “Okay, goodnight, Zayn.” She tells him with a smile. “It was nice to have you here.”

“Thank you.” He replies, and then heads for the door. Harry watches him go, urging to hold him back.

“Zayn!” Louis yells, making Harry jump embarrassingly. Zayn turns around to look at him with a frown. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Louis grunts. Gemma’s giggling by his side. Harry doesn’t like whatever that’s going on.

He’s blinking for a few times, before cursing internally and nodding. “Yeah, can I have a minute with you?” Zayn asks, looking at Harry who was staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest. “Sure. Come on up.” Harry replies, turning around to walk upstairs.

“Do you think Harry will try to mend things up with Jack?” Louis asks Gemma who turns on the television. “Huh? Not really. I don’t know, maybe. Jack and him were very close back then. It really hurt him when Jack left, and he only showed me the journal Jack had given him. It was really beautiful for a fourteen year told writing it, I tell you. And he had been writing on it for almost two years. Can you believe that?”

“Huh. Poor Zayn.” Louis mutters. Gemma laughs at that. “I don’t think Zayn’s chances are low in here. He’s still the most gorgeous guy Harry has ever been with. Maybe if Jack showed up before Zayn came into his life, things might have been different. Or maybe if Zayn and Harry were just friends, Jack might have had a good chance.”

Harry and Zayn sit down on his bed, opposite to each other. Zayn knows that Harry might have had a moment with Jack in here, as he notices his journal right on top of his desk. He’s never been this jealous. Especially when Jack’s mother was throwing her son on top of Harry whenever she got a chance. And Anne seemed to adore those people already. Zayn was already too far.

“I like you, Harry.” Zayn starts off. “I really fucking do. And I want to take you out, be with you, do stuff with you and be your only one. I don’t… I don’t want you being with other people. And I get it, I want to be yours only, and I’m pathetic for that. Seeing you with other people makes my head hurt, and it makes me think if you felt the same way when I was with her. But I get it, I get it all. I know your childhood friend, and the one you constantly think about actually showed up after such a long time.”

“I am so jealous of him, Harry. He knows so much about you, he has his childhood with you and he grew up with you. And now that he’s here, looking all shiny and pretty, his parents throwing him right on you… I’m so fucking jealous. And he’s going to be going to the same University. I’m scared, and I know that I’m asking for too much after making you go through shit and I’m currently in a bad position too but…”

“You are jealous of Jack?” Harry cuts him off. “Do you know how much it hurt when I would lie down in my bed, thinking about how you’d hold Perrie close and make her believe she was the only one. I was here, wondering why had I developed romantic feelings for someone I was just supposed to sleep with. I had come in to his city with a plan, Zayn. Jesse, one of my college friends made me believe that if I ever fell in love with someone, I should be good… in sex. And I was a fucking virgin who didn’t know shit.”

Zayn freezes at that. Harry just nods. “That’s right, the night when you came here. That was my first. I was positive that we could stop after that, maybe you’d get married to her and I’d be there in your wedding smiling and being happy for you. But fuck, you’re so nice. Then we went on so many things together, I was already in love with you the moment you said that you loved me back. I knew that you could have just said it to shut me up back then, but I didn’t care. And then you gave me what I was here for, and I just… I tried to get with other people but I end up thinking about you.”

“I didn’t want other people, I wanted your stupid taken ass. If Jesse was here he’d laugh at my face and call me a hopeless romantic. Maybe I am, and I hate myself for that.” Harry looks right at him. “If you’re thinking Jack was enough to make me get away from you, you’re wrong. I don’t even remember what it felt to be with Jack. His words are with me, but I don’t know what kind of a person he is. I don’t like it, and I’m never forgiving him for what he did. You’re the one who actually held me like I mattered, you were the one who never really left. You made me think that you loved me back.”

“I do.” Zayn replies hurriedly. “I do, I… I am in love with you. And it was Perrie who told me when she saw our pictures in the art room. The day she left. She told me how much I was in love and I didn’t even realize because I was too blinded by her. Maybe we wouldn’t be something that you were looking for, but you bring out the best in me and I love that. I love you. I love seeing you smile, I love holding you and I wouldn’t leave you for the world.”

“Stop making me emotional.” Harry blurted out with a laugh, holding back his tears. “Maybe we wouldn’t be perfect, but we are something. We have each other now, don’t we?” He reaches out to hold Zayn’s hands.

“Yeah. We have each other.” Zayn replies with a smile.

“I thought you should know that Jack was in Liverpool when he first came to UK. He was finding me and he found Perrie in a café.” Harry says. Zayn’s smile disappears and he’s only nodding along slowly. “They talked for a bit and she accidentally said my name. Then he recognized it was me she was talking about when she said Gemma’s name too, and then Marie found out we lived here… the point is, when Jack was in this room with me, he told me stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Yeah. His words, his words have a big effect on me. I always believed him.” Harry says. “He told me you were no good for me, that you always cheat…”

Zayn’s heart sinks. Gigi’s words coming back to him, even though she had apologized to him about that.

“But fuck that. There is no way you would want to cheat when you’re in a relationship with me. Have you seen me? I’m fucking beautiful.” Harry says with a smile, killing the tension. Zayn chuckles at that. “Of course you are.”

“Gemma doesn’t trust Louis even with very old people. Just warning you, because we’re very alike.”

Zayn’s laughing. “That’s amazing, babe.”

Harry’s heart flutters at that pet name. He leans forward to capture Zayn’s lips. In that moment, they’re fine. They’re about to start new with nobody in their way. Zayn was single, Harry was single, and they had each other. They were going to be alright.

The next day Liam’s stood by his car when he’s leaving school. “What are you doing here? Did you walk?” Zayn asks him with a grin. Liam rolls his eyes. “I took a cab. Now, I have something to give you. Let’s go.”

“Okay?” Zayn mutters, getting into his car.

They drive home without talking. It’s only when they walk into Zayn’s house, Liam sighs. “Sit down.” He says. Zayn does, as he places his bag right beside him. Liam hands him a wooden box. Zayn’s smile disappears at that, remembering that Perrie used to carry it around. He takes it, quickly opens the lid to see the ring he had given to her.

“So, it’s really done.” Liam says, sitting down beside him. “What now?”

“Nothing.” Zayn mutters. “She gave it to you?”

“Mailed it.”

“Of course.” Zayn laughs.

“What about Harry?”

“We’re good.”

“Are you sure about this?” Liam asks. “I’ll be here, yeah? I’ll always be here.”

“Damn, don’t make me fall in love with you.” Zayn says with a grin, putting Liam into a headlock. Everything was going to be fine. He was hoping Perrie would be alright. After Liam leaves, he’s sat on the couch, going through the television channels and groaning. His phone is beeping, and he’s sure it’s either Liam or someone from his family.

When he checks the id, it’s neither of them. He’s quick to pick it up.

“Sorry, sir.” He quickly says when Professor Spencer from the line says, “Hello.”

The professor laughs. His name is Richard Spencer and he’s the one who took an interest in Zayn’s paintings. Nakshathra introduced him to the professor a while ago, and he had promised to contact him when he gets back from his trip to Iceland. “Nice to hear you’re alive, Malik. I was wondering if you were up for a quick chat? Not too busy I hope.”

“Oh, sure. I’m not doing anything right now. I’m home.”

“Good. I know I was a bit busy, but sorry kid, I tried. I couldn’t get you in a gallery up in here, but there is a woman in New York who would like to see you. But she’s a pain, I tell you that.”

Zayn laughs a little. “It’s fine. I don’t have a passport, by the way. It’ll take me ages to get one and I like it here. It’s going to be a good time being a teacher to the middle schoolers, I suppose.”

“About that.” The professor starts with a laugh. “I might have got you an interview at a University for teaching Art. How cool is that?”

“What?”

“You did complain a bit about teaching middle schoolers. I thought, why go to A-levels when you can have undergraduates?”

“Really?” Zayn’s smiling because the pay would be great.

“Yeah. I can’t guarantee the job but you must go for the interview. It’s at Manchester, by the way.”

“Uh,”

“Yes.” The professor is laughing. “How good is that? University of Manchester is quite nice. I’ve been there a few times.”

“Yeah, that’s nice. When is the interview?” Zayn asks.

“Let me see,” The professor pauses for a moment. “In exactly a month. Fourth of June. Good luck, they’re supposed to send you an email in some days.”

“Thank you so much, you’ve been such a good help.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you for keep up with me. I’m quite a forgetful man. I’ll see you soon, I guess. You better be a professor then.”

Zayn chuckles before saying goodbye and hanging up. Okay, this was actually happening.

The next few days go fast. He doesn’t tell anybody about the interview. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do about it. He’s received the email from the official university id, and he’s happy that Professor Spencer wasn’t joking about it. He prepares a bit during his lectures when the students are doing their assigned work.

He would miss teaching them if he does get the job. It’ll be a big step, and everything will be way more advanced than he usually teaches. He had done those studies himself, he knew that he could do a good job if they gave him a chance.

Harry has his exams, so Zayn sometimes accompanies him to a Starbucks and watches him study after a long day. Harry tells him that he shouldn’t waste his time like that, but he just rolls his eyes and tells him to keep concentrating. His exams end on 24th May, and he’s already tired.

“I hate this; why did I take Management?” Harry mutters, going through the pages and marking down a topic. Zayn watches him with a smile.

“You’re creepy.” Harry says, looking up at him. “Gorgeous, but creepy. Smiling at me while I’m in misery.”

“Can’t help it. You’re beautiful.” Zayn replies. Harry smirks at that, looking down at his books. They had been going through this amazing phase, where they hung out sometimes and hold hands even when people are looking. Harry’s never been with someone like this, and his heart is going crazy. Nobody from his Uni has seen him yet, that’s safe.

“I just want this to be over.” Harry says. “I know this is completely boring for you, but if I don’t study well, mom will kick me out. Maybe she won’t but I’ll feel bad and I was literally doing nothing the whole time and now the exams are here and we’re finally out of a mess and fuck.”

“Harry, you need to take a deep breath and chill.” Zayn tells him with a smile. “You’re thinking too much.”

“Fine.” Harry goes back to his books, and Zayn sighs, looking down at his phone.

Exams go on, Zayn concentrates on school and his upcoming interview. He tells Doniya about it and she wishes him luck. She’s the only one who knows about it, and he’s happy that he’s told only one. If he doesn’t get this job, it’ll be awful. His parents shouldn’t know that.

Harry: I’m at Uni with the boys. Needed to see the professor. Our holidays start from ninth of June, isn’t that amazing?

Zayn: totally

Zayn: mine’s from 30th May to 6th June.

Harry: What?

Zayn: that’s summer break

Zayn: summer holidays are from 19th June to 31st July.

Harry: Oh right. That’s nice.

Zayn: I guess. I’ll see you tomorrow then?

Harry: Yeah!

Harry: Zayn?

Zayn: yes?

Harry: I miss you

Zayn smiles like a fool.

Zayn: I miss you more

He doesn’t mean to pry, but he checks Perrie’s Instagram after a while. She hasn’t blocked him, but she did start unfollowing him. There are only two new pictures. He gasps when he sees the place mentioned. She was in Norway, taking selfies with a huge smile. The pictures were captioned as: ‘Finally, free! #TimeToExplore Part 1.’

He sighs, checking his messages to see an obvious message from Gigi. For a famous person, she does text him a lot.

OfficialGigi: ZEDDDD

OfficialGigi: you did it

OfficialGigi: tears everywhere. I am so happy for you.

ZaynMalik: shut up

OfficialGigi: that was a fast reply. How are you? Shall I visit?

ZaynMalik: please don’t. I’m good. What are you up to?

OfficialGigi: hmm, I’m in Manchester right now. Taylor wanted to meet me and we’re supposed to go for a vogue shoot tomorrow morning.

ZaynMalik: like every other day. Taylor Swift?

OfficialGigi: totally (: And no, Taylor Hill.

ZaynMalik: of course. Why are we still talking?

OfficialGigi: we’re friends. I follow you on Instagram and twitter.

ZaynMalik: I don’t even tweet

OfficialGigi: I know. Lol.

ZaynMalik: maybe we can be friends

OfficialGigi: took you a breakup to admit that. Don’t worry Zed, I’m too cool for you now.

Zayn chuckles, throwing his phone away on the sofa and getting up to have a good sleep.

They go around for a few dates, Harry’s always nervous and Zayn’s always laughing. He complains about his work, and how he’s not supposed to be here when Zayn’s unbuttoning his shirt in his room with his books everywhere. “I told your mother you were a little depressed and she let me up. Let me take my time.” Zayn says before biting below Harry’s ear. The younger boy squirms beneath him, lying down on his bed and sighing.

“If you want me to not stay depressed,” Harry starts off, getting up and making Zayn fall to the other side from his lap. He then climbs on top of Zayn with a grin. “Then let me do what I want to you.”

“Fine.” Zayn replies with a smile.

Harry helps Zayn take off the black button up shirt that he was wearing, then leaning down to lick at his left nipple before wrapping his lips around it and sucking. Zayn’s hands were back in his hair, pulling at it as he kept on sucking. He finally let go of his swollen nipple before moving back to the other one and doing the same.

Zayn was breathing heavily under him, keeping his voice low because there were still people awake in his house. Anne and Gemma were there; Louis was supposedly sleeping in Gemma’s room for now.

Harry’s tongue went down his happy trail, licking at his navel before moving down to his clothed crotch. He unzipped Zayn’s black jeans and placed a small kiss at the head covered by his red boxers. Zayn gasped at that, holding onto Harry’s sheets and biting down a moan.

Harry kept on mouthing at the head like the tease he is, and Zayn was trying not to shove his head right in there. He suddenly stopped getting up and facing Zayn with a mischievous grin. He kisses below his mouth and moves towards his ear. “Fuck my mouth.”

Zayn chuckles at that, nodding and letting Harry slide beneath him. The younger male moved down until he was facing Zayn’s crotch. Harry slid Zayn’s boxers off, grabbing his cock and jerking off slowly. Zayn looked down at him, waiting for him to stop. “I won’t last.” Zayn whispered. Harry nods a little, letting go of him. “Fine.”

Zayn moves down, Harry’s lips wrapping around him as he thrusts a little. “Okay?” He asks. Harry nods, moving his fingers in a way Zayn doesn’t understand. He moves up and shoves a little harder, but Harry doesn’t seem to mind. His mouth is hot and Zayn’s holding back the need to keep thrusting harder and faster.

His thrusts are slow and steady, moving in and out, Harry’s holding his hips and that moment, he doesn’t care anymore. He’s going faster, Harry’s eyes are holding back tears as he hits the back of his throat, gripping his hips tight and letting him do what he wants.

Zayn’s thrusts become slower as he’s close. “Harry,” He says, but Harry’s doing the same thing with his fingers. He nods along, and continue to thrust as he comes into his mouth. He pulls back slowly, collapsing beside Harry. “Are you okay?” He asks.

Harry doesn’t reply. He’s staring at the ceiling, licking his lips and sighing. Zayn moves lower to face him, and Harry’s still staring up. “Hey.” Zayn says. “What happened? Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Harry replies. “I’m just… surprised, you know. That you’re still with me. That we’re still together.”

“Maybe it’s about time that you stop falling for the wrong ones. You’ve finally fell for the right one.”

Harry chuckles. “But you were wrong, Zayn. I destroyed your previous relationship.”

“No,” Zayn says. “I destroyed my own relationship. She’s happier now, and she’s fine by her own. She always has been. Maybe she’ll meet someone who’ll love her the way she deserves to be loved. Not some twat like me.”

“What if that’s her type?”

“Shut up.” Zayn’s laughing at that.

Days go fast, Harry’s exams are over. Zayn sulks in his classes, students miss their ‘young teacher’ and his mother keeps on asking him if he’s alright. Zayn finally tells Harry about his interview when the summer break starts at Greenberg.

“That’s amazing.” Harry tells him with a grin. “So, an upgrade from Mr. Malik to Professor Malik. Damn.”

Zayn rolls his eyes, but sighs happily. “I think you should tell you mother.”

“About your interview?”

“No.” Zayn looks down at his lap. They’re currently in Zayn’s house as he was going through the student’s papers. “About us.”

It all starts from there. Harry asks Gemma about it, and she tells him that he really should tell her. Maybe she’ll get it, maybe she wouldn’t. But at least they wouldn’t have to hide it anymore. The day before Zayn’s interview at Manchester, he visits Anne.

“Would you like some tea?” She asks him when he sits down on the sofa. Harry’s walking downstairs, he’s wearing a beanie to cover up his messed hair and he looks a little sleepy. “Mom.” He says. “We need to talk.”

“Later, Harry. Look, Zayn is here.”

“Yes, Zayn and I need to talk to you.” Harry tells her. Gemma walks out of the kitchen eating strawberry yogurt and decides to join the conversation. Louis had left yesterday for work in New Orleans. “Okay.” She says, taking a seat on the couch. Harry sits down beside Zayn on the sofa and Gemma joins his side.

“Um, so…” Zayn looks at Harry who’s avoiding everyone’s gaze. “How are the flowers?”

Anne chuckles at that. “They’re good. The shop near us, the one with the pretty ladies, they really like us. They want to make some sort of deal, and when I put it up on my blog the people seemed keen on it and suggested that I make a deal. Grow some business, yeah?”

“That’s nice.” Zayn replies. Gemma groans. “You’re not here to talk about flowers. You’re here to discuss about how you’re dating Harry.”

Everybody goes silent at that. Harry’s eyes are wide, but he’s still looking down at his feet. Zayn’s looking at Gemma who continues to eat her strawberry yogurt. Anne’s mouth is a little open, looking at the three of them. “What?” Anne breaks the silence. “Dating? Zayn?”

“Do not be surprised, mum.” Gemma says as she looks up from her snack. “Harry’s been smiling so much recently, and we all know it’s not because his exams went great. He was actually pretty fine during his exams too, and you know it’s because he was hanging out with Zayn. When he said he was going out to study, he was actually going to Starbucks with Zayn. And Zayn’s the reason why he’s actually doing good now.”

“When did this happen?” Anne asks, looking right at her son. “Harry. Tell me. When did you start seeing Zayn?”

“I…” Harry looks up at her. “We started dating some days ago.”

“That’s not what I was asking.” She says. “When did you and Zayn started seeing each other? Did you think it was a good idea to start dating him after he broke up with her?”

“Mom… I love him. I know what I did wasn’t right, what we had wasn’t right…” Harry can’t look her in the eye. “But what I have with him right now is what I care about. I know I was stupid and reckless, but I…”

“Oh.” Anne sighs. “Perrie left because she found out about you two. Didn’t she?”

“Anne the main reason why Perrie left wasn’t because of what Harry and I had.” Zayn tells her. “She left me because she knew that I was staying with her just because I thought she would make me a better person. She was the one who told me that she was unable to make me smile the way Harry would, and I love your son, I am so in love with him that I couldn’t even see what I was doing wrong when I was with him.”

“I know you will look upon me as a cheater, but I need you to give me a chance. I will never do something stupid with Harry, I promise you.” Zayn’s looking at her, hoping that she wouldn’t kick him out of his house. “But when did this start?” She asks.

“When he first came over with her.” Harry mutters.

“No wonder you were that upset over Josh not inviting you to a party. You were upset because Zayn and Perrie were engaged back then.” Anne tells Harry, as if everything was coming back to her. “Oh, here I was thinking Harry had found a good friend at last.”

“Zayn’s great.” Gemma adds in. “He was a fucking twat for making Harry fall in love with him, but now that he’s here, it’s fine. And, sorry for my language.”

Anne looks at her for a moment before turning back to Zayn. “I don’t know, but if you ever make him cry I will be coming for you.”

Zayn smiles a little at that. “I won’t.”

The next day Zayn’s off for his interview. Harry sulks around, pretends to not notice the looks his mother is giving him and proofreads Gemma’s articles. Turns out Zayn’s interview was good, and they would contact him in two days if he got the job or not. When Harry tells Gemma about it, she tells him that it’s a good opportunity for Zayn, but Manchester was far away. It was on the other side of London, and it would take him about two hours from train. Zayn would have to shift there if he got the job.

“At least he’s not going to New York or something like that. That’d be fucked up.” Gemma tells him when he’s frowning, thinking about their distance and how he’d be unable to see Zayn. “He could have tried getting a job in UCL.” Harry says.

“Yeah, UCL professor dating a UCL student. Hopefully they’ll let you see him in jail.”

“Right.” Harry mutters. He would like to be seen in public with Zayn. But then again, Zayn’s job at Greenberg wasn’t bad. The pay there was pretty fine too.

Jack and Harry don’t talk. Jack texts him sometimes, but he never replies.

Zayn gets an email two days later confirming his job and looking forward to having him at the University. He tells Professor Spencer about his job first, because he had been the one who had got him this interview. He informs his family who congratulate him, then Liam who tries not to be upset since Zayn would be moving away from London.

Finally, Harry’s the one to hear the news. It’s when he comes home from Liam’s house, to find Harry sat in his veranda, glancing up at him. “You got it. Didn’t you?” Harry says when Zayn’s unlocking the door. “Yes, Harry. I got it.” He manages to reply when the door opens.

“So, when does it start?”

“Somewhere in September. I haven’t read it quite thoroughly, they’ve told me to come by a week before to check out the office and such.” Zayn says as Harry follows him inside. “And you’ll shift to Manchester. You’ll sell this house. You’ll forget about me. You’ll find someone else there.”

“Wow, stop right there.” Zayn chuckles as he turns around to look at Harry. “About to house, this is still mine. Turns out the Professor who got me the job here was looking forward to a place to stay in during his lectures here. I offered him this place, and he offered him his place in Manchester. It’s a bit fast, so I’ll try looking for a place there in a month or something. He’ll be needing this house for a year, so I suppose I’ll have to sell it.”

“And about us,” He steps forward and takes both of Harry’s hands in his. “I might be a twat but you’re a bigger one, so we’ll manage it. I’ll be here for holidays and such. And it’s a two-hour ride, maybe I’ll surprise you sometime. You better not leave me since you’ll start hanging out with your University friends.”

“They’re not as cool as you are.” Harry replies with a grin. “And I’m going to be clingy.”

“Well, I’m going to be missing you too much. And we still have time, you’re on your holidays and I’m on mine. I’m leaving the school, so I have to go there tomorrow and hand over the resignation to the principal. She’s over for some work, lucky me.” Zayn holds Harry’s face with his right hand and smiles. “After all, I promised your mum I won’t fuck up with you.”

Harry rolls his eyes but laughs, leaning forward to kiss him. They were going to be fine.

It’s a blur after that. Zayn shifts, Professor Spencer shifts and gives Harry a friendly smile. Harry was lucky that Spencer wasn’t teaching him in Uni. That’d be awkward. Harry had done well in his exams, his mother grins and tells him he’s very intelligent, Gemma scoffs but congratulates him on his good results. Louis demands a party, and Harry ignores him.

Zayn goes to a wedding a week before his lectures begin in Manchester Uni. It’s of his old friends, they were in a band and they would kill him if he wouldn’t make an appearance. It’s in a fancy place in Liverpool and he wears a great suit. Harry sees the pictures on Instagram and smiles like a fool. Zayn’s grinning happily with his arms around the two guys beside him, supposedly the ones who had got married. Their names were Luke and Ashton; they were kind of famous.

Zayn and Harry text all the time, sometimes they skype when they’re both free. His second year starts and Zayn’s first year of teaching starts. “They love me. I just know it.” Zayn tells him on the phone when he’s having his break. “Of course they do. You’re gorgeous.” Harry replies with a smile. Josh is shoving fries into Roger’s mouth, Joshua glares at them with his arm around Cathy who was a first year. He was the only one who got lucky in their small group.

“I mean, yeah. But they like my work too. They actually listened when I was talking, Harry. That’s such a big thing for me.” Zayn tells him. Harry smiles happily at that. “Oh well, you upgraded from 11 year olds to 18 year olds. I think that has to be a pretty big thing, Zayn.”

“Yeah, it is. Fucking is.”

Harry gets a little lonely sometimes, but he doesn’t whine too much about it. Zayn skypes him too, and it’s everything. He comes around during little breaks, and those are his favourite days. Louis manages to come over right when Zayn does. It’s annoying, but they’re good. Louis and Zayn have some kind of a good friendship, and it’s nice to see them talk after a long time.

It’s Christmas when Zayn asks Harry if he would celebrate it with his family. Anne doesn’t seem to mind at all. She sounds happy and tells Gemma that Zayn actually cared enough about Harry to introduce him to his family. Harry’s a little nervous during their ride there, but he’s good. They’re going to be fine. His family probably won’t kill him.

“I just,” Zayn says when they’re at his door. Harry notices that Zayn’s childhood house is pretty nice with a huge backyard which still has a little playground. Very adorable indeed. Just thinking about little Zayn playing there makes his heart swell. “I told them you were my boyfriend…is that fine with you…?”

“What?” Harry asks, looking at Zayn. “I’m sorry, fuck, I thought that maybe since we’ve been going out for a long time I just…”

Harry cuts Zayn off by pressing his lips tightly against his. “I’m so happy that I could cry, but your parents might not think very good about me if I do that.”

Zayn grins, shaking his head before ringing the doorbell.

Everybody in Zayn’s family likes him. Especially Safaa who just stared at him like he was some kind of a miracle. At first Zayn thought she was weirded out, but when she pulls at his arm and whispers how hot Harry is, he laughs hard.

Doniya was able to make it this Christmas too. She was in Seattle for some work, and she had to be here to see Zayn’s boyfriend. His mother was surprised that Zayn was dating somebody so young, but she didn’t oppose it. She didn’t ask him how they met because Zayn seemed happy enough with him to argue about that.

“I love your sisters.” Harry tells Zayn when they’re in his room. “And your room is nice.”

“Thank you, and they love you too.” Zayn replies. Doniya told him his choice was amazing, Walihya gushed about his dimples and Safaa tried to stay calm around him.

Second year of Uni, Christmas with his boyfriend’s family, Harry was doing pretty better than last year.

Zayn goes to Liam’s wedding in Florence, Perrie doesn’t make it and Liam tells Zayn that she wrote them an email why she couldn’t make it. He doesn’t budge, nods along and is all smiles for the pictures. He meets Niall again, who’s single again and was looking forward to getting laid. He had heard the French are pretty good, and he was waiting to have a good time. Zayn laughs and they share numbers, Niall was hilarious. Zayn remembers that.

Liam had asked Zayn to bring Harry along, but he was having his exams and couldn’t make it. Harry really wanted to go to Italy, but there could be another time.

It’s the third year when it’s a little complicated. It’s Harry’s last year, and he’s got too much to study. He forgets to pick up Zayn’s call and keeps on yelling at Roger for not giving him notes before. His assignments are a little late, he misses some important lectures and his grades fall down a bit. His mother is worried, but he assures her that he’s going to do in the last one. He spends most of his days at the Uni with his friends staying up all night and actually studying.

He had ignored Jack last year and he continues to ignore him this year. He had his own friends anyways, and he had seemingly accepted to being ignored.

When Harry does pick up Zayn’s call, he’s fuming. “Harry, it’s been four days. I thought you fucking died.”

“I was studying.”

“You didn’t think you should have texted me to say that?”

“I… I forgot, Zayn.” He really had. He was texting Cindy to send him the notes, he completely ignored Zayn’s texts. Josh was in the room with him, watching him curiously as he talked on the phone. “I was busy, I swear, how are you?”

“I’m fine Harry, but I don’t understand… Is Jack with you?”

Harry drops his book at that. Josh almost jumps when the heavy book hits the floor. “You think I’d do that? Cheat on you?”

“No, Harry. I was just asking.”

“I haven’t talked to him. Not once, Zayn. I was fucking studying. I’m having my exams soon and I don’t know shit. My scores aren’t doing well and this my last year. I need to fucking graduate.”

“Harry— “

“Bye. Don’t call me, I’m studying.” With that he drops the call. He picks up his book and starts studying again. Josh doesn’t say anything as he quietly reaches out to grab a book and study for himself.

Harry hates this. It’s almost his birthday and he had to fight with the one he was looking forward to meet. He’s at a frat party, scowling from the balcony along with Josh who’s smoking something illegal. “You’re turning twenty, Harry. Be happier about it. Management Science is sad enough.” Josh tells him.

“Hilarious.”

“You fought with your boyfriend for the first time, I think.” Josh says. “You’ve never been this grumpy and sarcastic.”

Harry grunts in response. “It’s my birthday in two days. Zayn was going to come over and now it’s just shit.”

“You had a little fight. Why do you think he won’t come over? Delta Chi is going to throw you a party!”

“Fuck Delta Chi.”

“Don’t let anybody hear you. We’re at a Delta Chi party.” Josh tells him with a laugh. Harry chuckles and nods along. He drinks a little, lets Joshua carry him home and doesn’t listen when his mother yells at him for partying too much. Gemma laughs and takes his pictures when he falls down on the stairs.

Zayn doesn’t try to call him after that. It’s weird, and Harry hates it.

It’s the night before his birthday. Josh had told him to spend it in the dorms, people actually liked him and were planning on staying up but he refused. He was sad enough for that. He’s staring at the ceiling above his bed, the clock on his wall striking at 11:30 pm.

It was indeed my fault for not answering his calls. Fuck, I’m stupid.

He keeps on repeating in his head, his eyes closing. When he opens it, somebody is shaking him. “Fuck, Gem,” He says, looking up at the intruder.

“Sorry, Gem is downstairs. She’s working on something, so she yelled at me when I called her.” Zayn rambles on. Harry’s just looking at him, wondering if he was real. He reaches out to poke Zayn’s nose. “You’re really here.” Harry says.

Zayn chuckles at that. “Of course I am. Happy Birthday.”

Harry looks at the clock which was at 12.

“You actually came, I can’t… thank you.” Harry sits up with a smile. Zayn is just nodding along, muttering something under his breath before sitting down opposite to him on the bed. “Now, just listen to me. Okay?”

Harry nods.

“So, what are you planning on doing after you get your degree?”

“Uh,” Harry smiles a little. “Look for jobs? Work as an intern, basically. That’s what my professors told me.”

“Okay, nice.” Zayn smiles too. “You know, when I first met you, I thought you were this hot teenager who wanted to seduce me for fun. And you were actually doing that, so yeah. But then we both fucked up, and as much as I want to say I regret it, I don’t. We were wrong, yes, but life is quite strange for everything to be perfect. I understand that you were busy, I remembered that this was your last year and you’re going to be graduating soon, and I realized I’m in love with you. I really am, and this might be too soon but waiting won’t change anything,”

Harry raises an eyebrow. Zayn just shakes his head and kisses him. Harry grins, his hands on Zayn’s neck, licking his bottom lip.

But Zayn pulls a little too soon. Harry groans, but Zayn continues to talk. “Okay, I was just calming my nerves.”

“You’re weird.” Harry tells him. Zayn nods approvingly. But then he takes out a ring, which Harry hasn’t seen before. It’s pretty, shining brightly and Zayn’s looking at him. “Zayn…” Harry starts off but Zayn shushes him.

“As I said, too fucking early. You’re still in Uni and I do not care.” Zayn chuckles, but his eyes are watery. “Maybe this is what Liam felt when he was with Nakshathra. I bought this ring two weeks ago when I was with some other professors. There’s this man who was looking for a ring too, and I might have said I was looking forward to giving it to someone. Then he told me that it was a good time to buy it, and I assured him that you were a little young. He laughed and told me that, ‘it doesn’t matter whether it’s today or in three years. Their answer should be the same’. And I… I got it. I want this, I want you, I want to be with you and I want a family with you, and you can kick me out if you think I’m too early or you don’t want this…”

Harry’s still staring at the ring in Zayn’s hand. “You want this. You… you thought about us. You want a family?” Harry repeats slowly. Zayn closes his eyes and nods. “I’ve done this thing before, but nobody told me to do this for you, Harry. I wanted this, I fucking love you and being without you makes me crazy. We’ve been together for two years now I love you. I love you so much.”

Harry nods. “I… I love you too.” He blurts out, failing to hide his tears. They both laugh with watery eyes. “So? Will you marry me, Harry Styles? Or should I get on a knee?”

“Oh fuck that.” Harry says, holding out his hand. “I wanted to marry you when you called me your boyfriend for the first time. Fuck yes.”

Zayn laughs, pushing the ring into Harry’s finger and pulling him closer to kiss him again.

Harry would mark this as the best birthday present.

Anne cries a little when they tell him in the morning, Gemma does too which is surprising. Louis gifts him a fucking sports car because that’s what Louis Tomlinson does. He’s never been able to make it to Harry’s birthdays, now Harry will be sure to get him to come to every single one of them.

“I can’t believe somebody got him a better birthday present.” Louis says when Gemma tells him that Zayn’s present is more expensive. “I demand to be known what that is.”

Harry shows him his hand, and Louis almost dies on the spot. “Fuck, congratulations! Is it because Harry’s pregnant?” Louis asks, poking Harry’s belly. Zayn laughs hard, then asks Harry if he really is, and then they all laugh. Harry on the other side scowls and wonders if he had been getting fat.

He ends up not going to the frat party, but they party anyways.

Josh gets him a clock that runs backwards, Joshua gets him a necklace which is made of little pizzas (he’s never wearing that) and Roger forgets to buy him anything, so he offers food which is great. Cindy gets him a bed tent, and tells him that it’s really fucking cool. He’s not sure where he could use that, but thanks her in return. He gets all sort of weird gifts from his friends. He’s pretty thankful, and grins widely when they ask him about his new ring. 

After graduation Jack shifted back to Canada, leaving a note again for Harry.

‘Congratulations. Glad that you found the one who really loves you. I'll come to the wedding if you ask nicely. I'll bring a nice present too, best friend.’

-1 year later-

“What the fuck. There’s like a million cameras outside.” Louis complains. Gemma rolls her eyes. “There are like, five.”

“Yes, that’s a lot.”

“You know why they are here.” Gemma tells him with a grin. Louis and Gemma got engaged two months before Harry and Zayn’s wedding. Which is where they’re currently arguing about the cameras.

Zayn’s eating his red velvet cake silently, watching as Gigi talks to Harry looking perfect as ever. He doesn’t even remember inviting her. Luke is by his side, trying to calm down his and Ashton's daughter who’s shoving the cake inside her mouth. Ashton is laughing so hard; his hand is on Zayn’s shoulder to stop himself from falling over.

Jackson is there with his family. He doesn’t seem very upset, he’s here with a date too. Zayn sighs in relief.

He chokes on his cake when he notices someone in the crowd. Ashton hits his back hard enough for him to breathe again. “Dude. What the hell?” He says. Zayn shakes his head, getting up and heading towards Harry. He grabs his arm, pulling him away from Gigi. “I was not stealing him, I swear.” She tells him with a frown.

“No, Perrie’s here.” He tells her. She curses under her breath, rushing somewhere. Probably to hide. Harry looks a little scared, but Zayn’s holding his hand, his eyes on the girl who had walked out of his life three years ago.

Her eyes soon land on him, her smile disappearing as she tugs at the sleeve of the unknown guy that she was with. The guy looks at them, and he’s surprised too. “Fuck.” Harry mutters. Zayn frowns, but then they’re walking closer. “Hey.” Perrie says in her usual cheerful voice. “Congratulations. Happy for you guys.”

“Thank you.” Zayn replies, looking at Harry who’s staring at the guy in disbelief.

“Fucking hell, Harry. I didn’t know it was you.” The guy says with a laugh. “You really took my advice, didn’t you? You’re a hopeless romantic, I knew you’d find someone doing that. You have to thank me.”

“You know each other?” Zayn asks Harry who nods. “Uh, this is Jesse. Remember the guy I told you about? My college friend.”

“Oh.” Perrie says, looking at Zayn. “I think you should let them talk, how about I tell you how I met Perrie?” Jesse says with a grin, tugging Harry to another side. Harry rolls his eyes, walking along with him. Zayn’s left there with Perrie, he can see Liam behind her, giving him a small smile.

“You married him.” Perrie says. “I didn’t think you were going to be with him. It’s nice, Zayn. He really makes you happy. And, I didn’t think you’d get married in Manchester.”

Zayn chuckles. “Oh, I work at Manchester University.”

“Really? That’s great!” She sounds genuinely happy. “Sorry for just coming in. I know I wasn’t invited or anything, but Liam told me where it was and Jesse said it’d be nice to clear things off. You’re a good man, Z. Harry knows that and that’s why he married you. You both love each other and as much as it hurt me back then, it’s fine. If you loved me enough maybe, we could be here. But look at you, married and all that. What about the last names?”

“Huh? We’re going to be doing something like… Styles-Malik.”

“Fuck, that’s adorable.” She says with a laugh. “Jesse is nice. I met him during our trip to Brighton. We danced, but I told him I had a boyfriend. Then I met him in Norway. He was touring, laughed when he saw me. Then I told him I was single and yeah, it just happened.”

“Yeah, I’m happy for you. He seems like a nice guy.” Zayn says, looking over at Harry and Jesse who were in a deep conversation.

“I know that guy.” Perrie suddenly says, looking over Zayn’s shoulder. He turns around to see Jack with a girl from his Uni, laughing and kissing each other’s cheek. “Oh yeah. He’s Harry’s childhood friend and he did lash out on me. He was in love with Harry, tried to tell him to leave me because I always cheat.” Zayn tells her.

She smiles a little. “He still didn’t leave you. He chose you.”

“Yeah. He did.” Zayn replies.

“We were friends first, yeah? Maybe we can try to be nice and all that. Liam suggested this, okay?” She says. Zayn looks at her for a moment before telling her to wait for a moment. He drags Gigi with him, and Perrie grunts when she sees her.

“Hello Perrie, I’m sorry that I’m the reason behind your scowl.” Gigi says with a smile. “But I don’t know if we should argue anymore. Zayn’s with a man, and we’re both dating other men. How’s that?”

“Uh, okay.” Perrie replies with a smile. Jesse and Harry walk towards them with matching smiles.

“Shit, Gigi Hadid?!” Jesse yells with a grin. “Can I have a picture? I’m a big fan!”

“No.” Perrie grabs Jesse’s hand, smiles at Zayn before walking away. Gigi waves Jesse a goodbye who frowns and waves back. “I had told Zayn back then when he had a fight with you at LIGHTS.” Gigi says. “You are definitely the best that he had. Not counting me, of course.”

“Of course.” Harry says. Zayn laughs and kisses him right there. Gigi takes a picture, promising not to post on Instagram but she’s already typing down a caption. Zayn doesn’t fight that.

Harry’s dancing with his mother on the floor and Zayn’s dancing with Walihya. “I knew he was the one.” Walihya tells him.

“Can everybody stop saying that?”

“Okay.” She laughs. “But he looks so happy with you. Does that mean I’m allowed to date older guys too?”

“No. I’m the exception.” Zayn mutters with a smile.

Zayn doesn’t believe in ‘the one’, but he does believe in ‘forever’. And he sees that when he looks at Harry, when they lock eyes and smile knowingly. It was fine, they were alright.

Harry’s going to be finding a job in Manchester. Zayn sold his house in London and bought Spencer’s house. He’s got an art room again, and it’s better than before. Zayn and Perrie meet sometimes when they’re off to Liam’s for a Sunday brunch during holidays. She’s living in Edinburgh with Jesse. 

He met some of his students in Greenberg before moving to his house in Manchester. They cried and told him that their new teacher sucked, and he tries not to cry too. He would definitely miss them more than he thought he would. Harry's three friends are continuing to study in there, except for Roger who failed his third year and had to retake it. But they've formed a good bond, still in contact with each other. 

Liam and Nakshathra were expecting their first child and when Liam called Zayn three days before his wedding he almost died on the spot. 'I'm going to be an uncle! Wait, make me the Godfather. If you don't I'll kill you.' Zayn had told him. Liam laughed at that, promising to make him his child's Godfather. 

Niall came to his wedding with Laura. They apparently got back together because he couldn't live without her. He drank too much and did an Irish dance for the crowd who really liked it. Louis calmed him down some time later and Liam helped him sit down before he could start dancing again. The kids in the wedding really liked him. 

Cindy came to their wedding with Josh, and they were supposedly dating now. She tells them that she suspected they had a thing going on when she saw them in school. Harry's father doesn't come to their wedding, and Anne's not surprised. Harry tells Zayn that he didn't expect him to show up anyways. Zayn still felt kind of bad, but he didn't know the man. 

When Perrie was dancing with Jesse, looking at him like she once used to look at Zayn, he felt bad. Jesse was looking at her like she was the only one in the room, the way she deserved to be looked at. 

“Hey,” Harry’s voice brings him back. They had been dancing too. “It’s alright.”

“I know.” Zayn replies, looking at him with a smile. “I’m so lucky.”

Harry blushes madly before kissing him slowly. Zayn’s hands were tight around his waist and Harry’s arms were around Zayn’s neck. Some people cheered, and some yelled bad jokes. Perrie was looking at them with a small smile before looking back at Jesse. “Yeah, it’s about time I’ve seen him this happy. Kind of makes me happy too.” She says.

“I told you. Harry’s a fucking sunshine. I called him so many times to not do the shit I told him to when he was going back, I was such a twat but he never picked up my calls. At least he found his husband that way.” Jesse tells her. “And I found you.”

She rolls her eyes at his cheesy line, but smiles anyways.

 

It was kind of a mess, but they figured it out. Now that when Harry wakes up, Zayn’s beside him. It’s perfect, and sometimes it feels unreal.

Marrying Harry was one of the best decisions Zayn had ever made. Harry turns out to be a great cook, and he loves animals. They’re planning on getting a dog soon, and it’s perfect. Harry came into Zayn’s like just like an avalanche, and painted the empty canvas into the most beautiful colours he had ever seen. Harry will always be his favourite artwork.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> The song used is 'Jump Then Fall' by Taylor Swift with some lyrics changed. She obviously didn't mention dimples in there. I'm sure of that. Hopefully it didn't suck. I'm going to be editing it soon, but thought it wasn't bad enough so I posted it. Laters xx


End file.
